


Doing The Best We Can

by Devils_Official



Series: From Which Stars [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: A baby!, Black paladin! Lance, Emperor Lotor, Emperor!Keith AU, Fluff, Light Bondage, M/M, Plot With Porn, Political Chicanery, Relationship Negotiations, Soft Lotor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-09-07
Packaged: 2019-06-19 20:55:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 31,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15518400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Devils_Official/pseuds/Devils_Official
Summary: Four years after Keith accidentally becomes the Emperor of the Galra, the war is over, and the universe is at peace. Now if only his husband Lotor and his boyfriend Lance could get along...





	1. Whatever It Takes

It was not unusual for Keith to be away from the flagship; the Galra Empire might have been downsized, but there were still two dozen planets under the Empire’s direct control, and several times that number of freed colonies and allies. 

It made for a great deal of diplomacy. 

It was nothing Lotor wasn’t used to. He’d been at Keith’s side for four years now, and co-Emperor for three. If he wasn’t used to it by now, he’d never be.

He still missed Keith, whether he was gone for a day or a month. Love was like that, he supposed. 

The alert that a ship was asking for permission to dock was something of a surprise. The bigger surprise was that it was the Black Lion.

Lotor smiled to himself. A pity his father wasn’t here to see  _ this _ . 

The bigger part of him wondered why the Black Lion -and its pilot -was  here in the first place. The war was over, and while that didn’t mean this wasn’t a diplomatic mission, it did make that less likely. 

And Keith wasn’t here. Lance came to see Keith, and Lotor occupied himself elsewhere. That’s the way it had been for the last year and a half, and there was no reason to change it now. 

He gave permission for the tower to let the Black Lion dock, and called Keith. 

Keith picked up almost immediately. “Hey. Miss me already?”

“A little,” Lotor admitted. 

“It’s been three days,” Keith said.

“I always miss you when you’re gone,” Lotor said. “But that’s not why I’m calling.” 

“No?”

“Keith, were there any diplomatic meetings happening while you are away?”

“No…”

“That’s what I thought. But I just received a message saying that the Black Lion was requesting permission to board.”

“Huh,” said Keith. 

“Keith…”

Keith sighed. “Look, I know you two don’t really get along. You’ve both been trying, but I’d really appreciate it if you got along better.”

“So you thought ‘I’ll just throw them together unexpectedly and hope it works out’?”

“When you put it like that…” Keith sighed again. “I’m just tired of playing referee between you two. I miss you when I’m with him, and I miss him when I’m with you, but neither of you are happy if the other’s there, and I’ve been thinking and I- I don’t want to end it, with either of you. But if you can’t work it out, then…”

Lotor swallowed around his heart, which had suddenly relocated to his throat. “Keith…”

“I don’t want to, but I’ll break it off with Lance if I have to. I married you, Lotor, and I’ve spent four really great years with you. I’m not going to give up on that. But I think that we could all be happy together, if we’re all willing to try.”

“I’ll do it,” Lotor said. Keith asked for so little; this, he could do. “I’ll do whatever it takes to make you happy.”

Keith smiled, fondly, a little sadly. “I know, and I love you for that. But ‘whatever’ is a big word.”

“I mean it,” Lotor said. “You deserve to be happy. So. I’ll work it out with Lance, whether he likes it or not.”

Keith laughed. “Right. Well, I have to go. It looks like I’ll be here for at least another week. Keep me updated?”

“On Lance? Or in general?”

“Both. Love you.”

“Love you too.” The call ended, and Lotor set the comm aside. 

Truth be told, he didn’t actually have any problems with Lance. 

Lance was the one with the problems. 

Lotor stood and stretched. Well, he’d made a promise to Keith, and he intended to keep it. 


	2. The Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a flashback that takes place about a year and a half before Chapter 1

“Lotor, I’ve been thinking.”

“I’m shocked and appalled.”

Keith punched Lotor lightly in the arm. “Don’t be an ass. I was trying to be serious.”

Lotor set his tablet aside. “Is something wrong?”

“No, not really. I just thought we should talk about it, and -Well, look, I’ve been thinking about something, but if you’re not ok with it, then we can just… Forget about it, I guess.”

“You’ll have to tell me what it is, first.”

“Right.” Keith took a deep breath. “I want to see Lance.”

“I mean, you can. You have functioning eyes, and I guess we can invite him here when he returns from Earth.” 

“I meant romantically.”

“Oh. You don’t need to talk to me about that.”

“No? You’re completely ok with me going around behind your back with someone else?” 

Lotor laughed shortly. “Is this a human thing? Why would you hide it from me?”

“I wouldn’t. That’s why I’m asking if you’d be ok with it.”

“I recall telling you that Galra frequently partake in relationships with multiple partners.”

“That doesn’t mean that you’re fine with it.” 

Lotor shrugged. “You don’t need my permission. If you want to see Lance, then do it. The only thing you can’t do is marry him without my permission.”

“It’s a little too early to start thinking about marriage. I haven’t even talked to Lance about this yet.”

“Really? Because I proposed to you during the first real conversation we had, and you’ve known Lance for...four years now?” Then Lotor said, more seriously, “I really appreciate that you spoke to me first. You didn’t have to, but-“

“Well, it seemed like the polite thing to do.”

Lotor leaned over and kissed him. “You’re far too good for me, beloved.”

Keith shook his head. “I’m really not.” He cupped Lotor’s jaw with one hand. “But you are ok with this? It doesn’t mean I love you any less, or anything, I just-“

“It’s fine, Keith. It really is. You have a lot of love to give, and you deserve all the love in the universe. If you think it will make you happy, then I support it.”

“I love you,” Keith said.

Lotor smiled. “Love you too.”


	3. Plan A

By the time Lance had safely docked the Black Lion and disembarked, Lotor was waiting at the far end of the hangar. 

“Is Keith busy?” Lance asked, by way of greeting. 

“He’s away,” Lotor said. 

“Oh.” It was kind of awkward to be alone with Lotor. What exactly were you supposed to say to your boyfriend’s husband? Especially when he knew. “I’m sure it was a scheduling error, so I’ll just-“

“Keith set this up,” Lotor said.

“I’m sorry, what.” 

“Keith set this up because he wants us to get along. So. We’re going to do whatever it takes to make Keith happy, or I will shove you out of the airlock myself and make it look like a technical malfunction.” 

“Keith would miss me,” Lance protested weakly.

“He would. Otherwise it would be Plan A.”

“Alright, look, it’s just...what are we supposed to do?”

“Get along and make Keith happy.” 

“Easier said than done.”

“You can start by getting over whatever your problem with me is.”

“I- I don’t have a problem with you!”

Lotor raised an eyebrow. “You’ve had a problem with me since the beginning.” 

“It’s called ‘common sense’. You don’t immediately start trusting the guy who shows up offering to help because everyone else hates him. Usually, there’s a reason everyone hates him!”

“The reason was that I was trying to destroy the Empire my father built, which, may I remind you, was also your goal.”

“Yeah, well… Your hair’s too nice.”

Lotor blinked. “I’m sorry?”

“You heard me!” 

“What does my hair have to do with anything?”

Lance crossed his arms. “...Nothing.” 

Lotor rolled his eyes. “Anyway. Keith will be gone for another week. He hopes we can work this out in that time.”

“And if not?”

“I’m sure you will prefer it if I don’t answer that.”

Ominous. “Fine. So. What are we gonna do?”

“What do humans do to strengthen bonds within their social units? Keith says that he doesn’t know.”

“Well, he doesn’t. I dunno. Hang out? Go to the movies? What do Galra do?”

“Play fighting.” 

That...explained a lot, actually. “If we were back at the castle, we could play video games.” Not that a ten thousand year old emperor would want to play video games. “What do you and Keith do?” 

Lotor raised an eyebrow again, and opened his mouth to answer, before Lance realized what he said. “That’s not sex, I mean.”

“Oh. Well, he enjoys sparring, as I’m sure you know. We talk. We go sightseeing sometimes.”

“What on Earth do you talk about?” Keith was… Well, when he had the time to spend with Lance, they didn’t usually spend it chatting.

“A little bit of everything. Politics, mostly, but he likes scientific disciplines as well. History. I realize that he felt like he didn’t fit in with Voltron, but how is it possible you know so little about him?”

Lance felt the flush rising. “He doesn’t- He never talks about himself.”

“Well, no,” Lotor agreed. “Hardly ever. He doesn’t like to. So you have to watch. See what catches his interest. Once you learn to read him, he’s an open book.”

Lance realized several things at once:

  1. He did not know Keith as well as he had thought. 
  2. If he wanted to get to know Keith, Lotor was the best person to ask.
  3. If Keith thought it wouldn’t work with the three of them, Lotor wasn’t the one he’d kick to the curb.



So Lance swallowed his pride. “Ok. Look, Keith’s one thing we have in common, right? So… there has to be more. We can work this out. I want to make Keith happy as much as you do. So. Let’s do this.”


	4. “Conversation”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another flashback. This one takes place a few weeks after the first one

It was after an intense battle that it happened. 

Keith had meant to talk to Lance first, in the same way he’d talked to Lotor, but the surge of triumph, the battle-high, got the better of him. 

He ran to Black’s hangar, the exhaustion he knew he should have felt nonexistent. 

Lance was just setting foot on the deck when Keith caught him.

He kissed Lance breathlessly. It was easier now that he was taller than Lance (finally), so incredibly easy to bend down and tilt Lance’s chin up and-

Lance pushed him away. “Shit, Keith, you can’t- You’re married, and I don’t need Lotor coming after me.”

“Don’t you remember when he said that Galra emperors can take multiple partners? And he was serious, and I talked to him about it, and I- I really want this, Lance,” he said, rushing the words out. 

“Yeah?”

“I’ve had a crush on you for...forever, it feels like sometimes. And I guess I thought you felt the same way, but if not…” Keith stepped back. “I’m sorry. We should have talked first.”

“Hey, hey. I didn’t say that,” Lance said, grabbing Keith’s wrist. “You’re sure Lotor’s ok with this?”

“Yeah.”

Lance muttered something under his breath that was probably in Spanish. “Ok. Alright. Just -If Lotor murders me in my sleep, I’m haunting you.”

“Sounds good,” Keith said, then leaned in to kiss Lance again.

* * *

 

If the castle-ship wasn’t docked with the flagship, then sometimes Lotor would avail himself of Keith’s quarters in the castle. The Empire could be run from just about anywhere, after all, as long as the comms got through, and Keith liked it because it meant he got to see more of Lotor than he would otherwise. 

It wasn’t always perfect, but they tried; they were in this together, after all. Them against the universe. And it was nice to finally have someone at his back, no matter what. 

So it was completely normal to find Lotor crammed into Keith’s small bed -it was perfectly adequate for one human-sized person, but two half-Galra, one of whom had recently gone through a growth spurt, was pushing it -flipping through documents on his tablet. 

“I was starting to get worried,” Lotor said, looking up as Keith entered the room. “The Lions came back to the castle… an hour ago?”

“Someone would have told you if I had been hurt,” Keith said, beginning to change out of his armor.

“That is the only reason I didn’t try to go find you. I suppose you finally got around to having that conversation with Lance?”

Keith reflected on the events of the last hour. “You could say that.”

“And it went well?”

“...Definitely.” 

“You must be tired,” Lotor said, “after the battle and your...conversation.” 

“Not that tired.”

“What's that on your back?”

“What?” 

Lotor was behind him shockingly quick. “These,” Lotor said, running his fingertips down the red stripes on Keith’s back. “They’re not typical battle wounds.”

“...No.”

“Will I have to guess how they got there? Or will you tell me?”

There was no anger in Lotor’s voice -the truth was that he only rarely got angry in the first place, and when he did, it was a quiet anger -only playfulness. 

“Uh, yeah. Lance and I slept together, but I didn’t think you’d appreciate me telling you about it? So.” 

“On the contrary. I think a little bit of healthy competition fosters excellence in all parties.”

“You guys are gonna kill me,” Keith said, though he was already hard again. Fucking Galra libido apparently. 

“Yeah?”

“Well, you saw what Lance did to me, and I know you love to make me look like I was attacked by wild animals.”

“You love it.” 

Keith couldn’t argue with that. 

“So, I want to hear all about it,” Lotor said, the playfulness replaced with something else, something seductive. “Do you think that’s reasonable?”

“It was fairly straightforward,” Keith admitted. “So, if you’re looking for lurid, scandalous details, you’re gonna be disappointed.”

“You could never disappoint me, beloved.”


	5. Sleep More, Talk Less

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some soft things to consider:  
> A) Keith assumes Lotor rarely has trouble sleeping. The truth of the matter is that Lotor is an insomniac, and can only sleep restfully when Keith’s around bc he feels safe.   
> B) Keith finally reached his full growth. Which means he’s at least as tall as Shiro now.   
> C) After a brief stint in a psychiatric hospital upon returning to Earth, Shiro changed careers and now trains service dogs. It’s what he deserves.   
> Also, Season 6? Don’t know her

Lotor could usually figure out how he ended up in certain situations.

This was not the case here. 

Keith was not exactly predictable, but he operated mostly by instinct and momentum. If you knew Keith, you knew how he’d react to certain things. 

Lotor did not think Lance was like that at all. It was almost like he had no momentum of his own; he wouldn’t always take the path of least resistance, but he was  _ adaptable _ in a way that Keith was not. 

Perhaps, in another reality, the two of them were happily wrapped up in each other, fire and water, living in perfect balance. 

It was like a switch had been flipped, and Lotor didn’t know what changed. He didn’t like that.

But Lance was less antagonistic now, so it was something. 

It was later now, late enough that they were eating dinner in the Imperial Suite. 

When Keith was away, Lotor usually ate while looking over reports -if he remembered to eat at all -but he felt it would be impolite to do that now since he had a guest. 

“I can’t believe Keith is taller than me now,” Lance said finally. 

“It’s not unusual for Galra, and especially hybrids, to go through delayed growth spurts, particularly if adequate nutritional needs were not met in childhood and early puberty.” Lotor had read all the papers on the subject he could get his hands on; unfortunately for him, he’d had no such luck.

“Yeah, but now Coran calls  _ me _ ‘Number Four’. Shiro’s not even in space anymore!”

“How is Shiro doing?” Lotor asked politely; Keith would want to know.

“He’s like, training service dogs now or something. He really enjoys it.”

“Well, I am glad he found happiness and peace.”

“He was too young for it all,” Lance said thoughtfully. “I think we all were. When I went home, I realized that I couldn’t imagine doing what Shiro’s doing. I couldn’t just go home and never leave again. It changed us.”

“Is that why you haven’t stepped down as Black Paladin yet? I know Pidge was intending to, and perhaps Hunk; you could, too. There isn’t much call for Voltron these days.”

Lance shrugged and looked away. “It doesn’t feel right, you know? Voltron doesn't just exist to fight the Galra; it’s supposed to protect and defend anyone who needs it. And there will always be injustice in the universe, so there will always be a need for Voltron… I guess what I’m saying is that I can’t step down until Black finds someone else. Plus I get to come out here and eat all your food. My mama’s cooking is better than this, but just barely.”

“Perhaps I should hire your mother then.”

Lance smiled at the joke. “She gets airsick.”

“I take it space travel is completely out.”

“Mm.” And then Lance appeared to have thought of something. “Is this how you and Keith got so close? It was like… You two had never really even spoken before the Kral Zera, but like, the next day, you were already…”

“No,” Lotor said. “I got him very drunk and asked him personal and invasive questions.”

“That is the only way you can get him to talk about himself.” 

“To be fair, I was also very drunk, and he asked me questions, too.”

“Is that the only way to get you to talk?”

“No, but it makes it a lot easier,” Lotor said with a sigh. “Until very recently, my life really wasn’t great. I went through a lot of things, and some of them I’ve tried very hard to forget.”

“I forget that sometimes,” Lance said quietly. “I look at you, and you look like you’re barely older than me, and then I remember that you’re ten thousand years old. It’s weird. And then, like, you’re actually nice sometimes, despite everything? If I went through half of what I imagine you went through…” He shook his head. 

“You won’t,” Lotor said with a firmness that surprised even him. “You won’t and you never will. No one else is going to go through what I went through.”

Lance laughed softly. “That’s what I mean. Other people in that situation would look at the universe and think ‘everyone else should have to suffer because I suffered.’ But not you. I’m glad Keith found you. It’s -You’ve managed to put each other back together, I think.”

“Are you well?” Lotor asked. He hadn’t expected to get philosophical tonight. 

“Just tired,” Lance said with a yawn. “I’ve been awake for like, thirty-six hours.”

“Well, don’t let me keep you up.”

Lance nodded and stood. “Yeah. Well, good night.” 

“Good night.”

* * *

It wasn’t until Lotor himself was ready to sleep that he realized Lance had made himself at home in the bed in the Imperial Suite. 

It made sense; Lotor assumed that’s where Lance slept when he visited Keith while Lotor was away. 

No, the problem was that Lance was on Lotor’s side. 

Keith and Lotor had never actually talk about that, either; they had chosen sides of the bed as easily as they worked out every other facet of living together. It was...effortless. 

Lance was already out cold, and Keith had once remarked that Lance was kind of bitch if you woke him up, so Lotor only sighed and went around to the other side of the bed. 

The sheets still smelled like Keith, so it wasn’t a complete loss, and between that and the sleeping medication he’d taken, Lotor was out almost immediately. 


	6. The Wrong Side of the Bed

Lance had not expected to wake up next to Lotor, of all people, though he probably should have; this was Lotor’s bed, after all.

Well, it was Keith’s bed, too, but Keith wasn’t here.

Lotor looked unfairly pretty while he was sleeping. Lance knew for a fact that his bed head was horrific, and Lotor’s should have been, too, even if he had braided his hair before he went to sleep. 

And he didn’t drool while he slept? 

It was very easy to hate Lotor, but he was just too fucking pretty. Actually, that made it way easier, because he was unfairly pretty. No person should be that pretty. 

Lance realized it wasn’t his brain thinking these thoughts, so much as his morning wood.  _ Fuck _ . 

He got up and showered and took care of it, and he felt much better after he was clean and dressed. Like a real, human person. 

Lotor was only just waking up, groggily pushing himself upright, with a vaguely displeased expression on his face. 

“Good morning,” Lance said. 

“Is it?” Lotor asked. 

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”

“Yes, because you stole my side last night,” Lotor said. He stretched.

“What the  _ fuck _ was that?” Lance asked, horrified by the sounds Lotor’s joints made.

Lotor stood. “I’ve got ten-thousand-years’ worth of battle injuries.”

“Fair enough.” 

“Mm.” Lotor stalked into the other room, and Lance followed. 

A sentry had apparently come in and laid out breakfast, and they both dug in.

“I have not yet been to Earth,” Lotor said conversationally, “although there is talk of an upcoming diplomatic visit. But either way, I am rather fond of some of Earth's exports.” Not surprising, since he was holding a cup of coffee like his life depended on it. 

“Did you not have something like coffee before?”

“Sort of. It was a popular choice for assassination by poison. Very dramatic,” Lotor said. “Or so I’ve been told.”

“Great.” 

“The effects of intergalactic trade with your home planet have already begun to spread across the Empire. I cannot tell you how many requests I have had to read through about gaining seeds for this crop and schematics for that technology- Is this boring you?”

“Sorry,” Lance said a little sheepishly. “I’m not a government official or an economist or anything.”

“No, it’s alright. The talk is a little heavy for breakfast. Will you tell me about Earth?”

It took Lance a moment to respond. “Haven't you heard enough from Keith?”

“Not really,” Lotor replied. “He doesn’t have many fond memories about Earth, and he doesn’t consider it to be his home, so he doesn’t really talk about it.”

“Oh,” Lance said. “What would you like to know?”

Everything, as it turned out; Lotor listened attentively, only interjecting to ask for clarification about some point Lance brought up, for over an hour. 

It felt more like giving a lecture than having a conversation, but it was nice just to talk and have someone listen as he rambled about this and that. 

Finally, Lance asked a question he’d had on his mind the whole time: “If Keith doesn’t consider Earth to be his home, then where is home for him?”

“Here, I suppose,” Lotor said, with a faraway, fond look. “We’re both used to living austerely, so there aren’t really any ‘homey’ touches, but he seems to like it well enough.”

“I mean, there’s a rack of knives on that wall,” Lance said. “I wouldn’t consider that a homey touch.”

“No?” Lotor said with a grin. “Keith collects them. Most aren’t very practical, but they are pretty in their own way.” 

“Kind of like Keith,” Lance blurted without thinking. “I mean -he’s practical but, uh-“

“He’s practical  _ sometimes _ . But I know what you meant. Keith  _ is _ pretty in his own way.”

“He doesn’t talk about you,” Lance said, just as impulsively as his previous outburst. 

Lotor raised an eyebrow. “Strange. He talks about you all the time.” 

Lance flushed. “He does? What does he say?”

“Only good things, I assure you. He’s quite fond of you.” 

“Yeah, but what did he say? What were his exact words?”

Lotor smiled, amused. “Do you expect me to remember every conversation I’ve had with him about you? Word-for-word?”

Lance felt his flush deepen. “Uh, no, but… I just…”

The amusement left Lotor’s face. “Are you insecure in your relationship to Keith?”

Lance couldn’t answer. He didn’t want to answer, didn’t want to admit to Lotor that he’d hit the nail right on the head. Mostly, he wanted to crawl into the deepest, darkest hole he could find and die. 

“There’s no reason to be. He likes you very much, and this isn’t a competition.”

“Isn’t it?” He’d always had to compete for attention -part of coming from a large family -and he was used to it, he was, but this… He knew he couldn’t win this competition. “I should just go. This whole thing was stupid, and I’m a fucking idiot for even thinking I had a chance with Keith, so-“

“Lance.” 

“What!”

“He loves you, you know. A great deal.”

Lance sank back down in his seat, like his strings had been cut. “Did he tell you that?”

“No. But I can tell, from the way he talks about you, from the way he’s always smiling when he comes back from seeing you, from the way he looks when he’s thinking about you. That’s why he wants this to work.” 

“And if it doesn’t?” 

“If it doesn’t work, then we deal with it. This doesn’t have to be...difficult, Lance.”

“It’s not easy, either.”

Lotor sighed. “No, I suppose not. I know this isn’t typical of human relationships, and it’s not really even typical of Galra ones, so it’s...an adjustment for all of us.”

“I thought Galra were onboard with the polyamory thing.”

“Yes, but not like this. It’s...unusual to share one’s partner with someone who isn’t also one’s partner.” 

“Oh. Is that all this is? I didn’t think you liked me that way, so I guess I just… This is obviously making you uncomfortable, so I was right, and I should just go, and write all this off as another stupid thing I did because of my dick-“

“Lance!” The sharpness of Lotor’s tone got Lance’s attention immediately. “I think you’re quite beautiful.”

This had to be...a dream? Maybe he’d hit his head recently? Maybe he was hallucinating. Alien foods had weird effects sometimes. “I’m sorry?”

“You’re quite lovely. Almost Altean in appearance-“

That caused Lance to double over in hysterical laughter. 

Lotor frowned, puzzled. 

“It’s just-“ Lance began, when he sort of caught his breath again, “It’s just, the very first fucking thing Allura said after she got out of cryo for the first time in ten thousands fucking years? ‘You have ugly ears.’ Not even, ‘Where’s my planet?’ ‘Who are you people?’ Just right to where it hurts.”

Lotor mouth quirked up in a smile. “Fortunately for you, Allura’s opinions do not in any way influence mine.”

“What are you supposed to do with that? Just go around for the rest of your life with the knowledge that someone out there finds your ears hideous? That was her exact word, too.”

“I fear we’ve strayed off topic, Lance.” 

That sobered Lance immediately. But he tried to play that off, too. “You were just telling me that you think I’m hot as fuck, right?”

“Lance, could you try to be serious for two minutes?” Lotor asked, slightly exasperated. But in a fond way. 

Lance nodded slowly. 

“I don’t wish to make you uncomfortable, Lance, but I- I’ve been seeing you through Keith’s eyes for some time now, and that has made me realize that, if you were willing, I’d like to pursue a closer relationship with you. It wouldn’t have to be romantic, but I think you’d be a good friend, and I’ve never had many of those, so…”

Lance blinked back tears. He wasn’t really sure what was making him so emotional. The earnestness in Lotor’s eyes? “I-“

Lotor just waited, patiently. Was he like this with Keith? So patient and caring and respectful? Lance hoped so; Keith deserved that. 

“I had a crush on Keith for a really long time,” Lance said finally, around the lump in his throat. “Even before we got hauled out into space. And I didn’t know how to handle it. Keith didn’t even notice me until I was helping him rescue Shiro, and that hurt.”

Lotor nodded. 

“We became friends somewhere along the way, I guess,” Lance continued, “but the feelings never really went away. Then he joined the Blade full-time, and I could just kind of shove those feelings to one side. 

“And then you came along, and you are probably the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen in my entire life, and what do you know? I’m dealing with you the same way I dealt with Keith, and I- I still couldn’t handle it. 

“And then you and Keith got married. And I was happy for Keith. Not at first, but I realized that you were exactly what he needed, more than I ever would be. So. I realized I never really had a chance with either of you.

“And then Keith kisses me one day, out of the blue, and tells me he wants me, and we didn’t talk about it and we never did, so I’m just- I’m-“

“Confused?” Lotor asked. 

Lance nodded. “I guess. I guess I thought I was like a fling or something, that he’d discard me when he got bored. After all, he has  _ you _ ; why would he ever want me?”

“Because you’re you,” Lotor said. He put one of his hands on top of Lance’s in a comforting gesture. “You’re an excellent leader, an exceptional sharpshooter, an phenomenal pilot, the Black Paladin… Not to mention kind and friendly and funny and brave.”

“Oh,” Lance said, and now he was actually crying.

Lotor didn’t say anything, just stroked his hand comfortingly. 

When Lance was done, Lotor handed him a napkin and a glass of water. 

Lance wiped his face and drank the water. “Thanks. I’m sorry for just…”

“There’s nothing to apologize for. Such honest conversations can become overwhelming, and those emotions need an outlet. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.” 

“Still. It’s gotta be awkward.”

Lotor shrugged. “I believe I’ve made my intentions clear to you. Whether we become friends or lovers or something else, I’d still like to take care of you if and when you need it.”

“See, this is why I’m glad Keith has you. He needs someone to take care of him sometimes, even if he won’t admit it.”

“Mm. Very true. He’s something of a disaster sometimes.” 

Lance laughed, and things were… not perfect, but certainly not as grim as they had seemed. 


	7. Call Your Dentist; This Chapter Will Give You Cavities

Lance avoided Lotor the rest of the day, which was fine; Lance probably had a lot to think over, and Lotor had responsibilities, especially with Keith away.

He returned to the Suite around the same time as their dinner was delivered, which was either coincidence, or good timing on Lance’s part. 

“Do you think Keith would be ok with it? With us?” Lance asked suddenly.

“I think he’d be happy as long as we got along,” Lotor said honestly. “And I suspect it’s always been a fantasy of his. The two men he loves, together…”

Lance blushed and ducked his head. “And you’re the one who told me to be serious.”

“I can ask when I call him tonight.”

“You’re going to talk to him?”

“There are a few matters I’d like his opinion on before any decisions are made. Affairs of state, I’m afraid. But yes. I intend to.” Lotor smiled, a little wistfully, a little wryly. “And I miss him.”

“I miss him too,” Lance admitted. “Would it be ok, if I- I don’t want to intrude or anything, but-“

“Of course,” Lotor said. “He’d be delighted to hear from you. It’ll probably be pretty boring, though.” 

“Like every diplomatic dinner I’ve ever been to,” Lance said, “except everyone involved is grossly in love with each other.”

“Disgustingly so,” Lotor deadpanned. 

Lance shifted uncomfortably. “I love him, you know.”

“I’m aware.” It was obvious; Lance didn’t have to say anything. He did, though, because it was Lance.

“But I’m… It’s not the same as what you have with him.”

“No,” Lotor agreed carefully. “But it doesn’t have to be.”

“When you’re in a room together, it’s like everything else just disappears. Everyone else. And I- I want that, too.”

“Everyone does,” Lotor said. “When I was younger, I wanted it too. But eventually I realized I’d probably end up spending my life alone. Emperor’s son or not, no one wants to marry a half-breed. That’s not what they’re there for. And I was ok with that.” 

“What changed?” Lance asked, but Lotor thought he already knew the answer.

“Keith,” he replied anyway. “I’m lucky to have him.” 

Lance looked away, shifting in his seat again.

“It’s hard,” Lotor continued, “because I never anticipated Keith. It’s like a miracle. And, you, Lance… You are a pleasant surprise.”

Lance looked up at that, startled. “Yeah?”

“Two handsome paladins with whom I can spend time? I don’t deserve it, but I will do whatever it takes to earn it. Do you understand?”

“You think I’m handsome?”

“Exceptionally.” 

Lance was flushed now, and it was just as attractive on him as it was on Keith. Humans were so delightful, with their blushes and their blunt little teeth and everything else. Or maybe it was just his humans. 

What a bizarre line of thought. 

“Am I flustering you?” Lotor asked, a little smugly. “You flirt with everyone, but you can’t take it?”

“I’m just...not used to it,” Lance said. 

“A shame. You should be showered in praise.” 

The flush deepened, spreading all the way down Lance’s neck, disappearing under the collar of his shirt. “You like the idea?” Lotor asked. This was too easy. Fun though. “Someone showering you in praise, while they-“

“You should stop,” Lance said shakily. “You’re a menace.”

Lotor smirked. “I’ve been told.” 

“How would Keith feel about this, you flirting with someone behind his back?”

“What’s mine is his, and what’s his…” Lotor leaned forward. “Could you handle that? Both of our attentions?”

Lance crossed his arms. “Whatever you give me, I can take.”

“Be careful what you wish for, Paladin,” Lotor said, before rising. “Perhaps we should ask Keith’s opinion.”

“You’re going to talk to Keith  _ now _ ?” 

“Is that a problem?”

Lance squirmed again, but not, this time, from discomfort. Or, at least, not entirely. 

Lotor raised an eyebrow when Lance didn’t respond. “Well?”

“No, no, it’s fine.”

“Very well.” Lotor retrieved the comm unit and called Keith.

Keith looked tired; he probably hadn’t been sleeping well either. “Hey.”

“Hello, beloved.” 

“Hey Keith.”

“It looks like you two are getting along well,” Keith said.

“You could say that,” Lotor agreed. “We were having a very interesting conversation.”

“Oh, were you?”

“Mm. But first, I’m afraid I have some business to discuss with you.” 

Keith’s jaw tightened minutely. Well, what was it that Keith always quoted when Lotor was impatient about something? _ Patience yields focus _ ? 

Still, Lotor got through the things he wanted Keith’s opinion about fairly quickly, and Keith listened seriously and intently, like always, thoughtfully making suggestions and observations. 

He did take his duties very seriously, and that was one of the many reasons that Lotor adored him. 

Finally, though, Keith turned to Lance. “Are you ok? You’ve been squirming this whole time, and I know some of this stuff is boring, but…”

“I’m fine,” Lance said a little too quickly. 

“Lance has a question to ask you,” Lotor said to Keith. 

“Oh?” Keith asked. “Should I be worried?”

“No,” Lance said. He took a deep breath. “Would you be ok if… If… uh, fuck, I don’t know how to ask this…”

Keith glanced back at Lotor. “Exactly how well have you been getting along?”

“Remarkably well. So well, in fact, that he wants your permission for me to court him.”

Keith laughed. “You don’t need my permission.”

“No,” Lotor agreed. “I don’t. But it seemed like the...How did you put it?  _ Polite _ thing to do.” 

Keith rolled his eyes. “Right. Well. If it makes you happy, Lotor. You deserve all the love in the universe, Lotor,” he mocked fondly. 

Lotor laughed. “I love you, Keith.”

“Love you too. Try not to wear Lance out too much. I have...plans for when I get back.” 

“Oh?”

“Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about,” Keith said. Then he yawned. 

“We should let you go,” Lotor said. “You must be exhausted.”

Keith nodded. “Yeah. I miss you both, and I’m really glad things are going so well. I should be back in a few days.”

“Miss you too,” Lance and Lotor said at the same time. They exchanged glances. 

Keith smiled. He yawned again. “Good night.”

“Good night, Beloved.” 

“Good night, Keith.” 

The call ended.

“What was that about?” Lance asked after a moment. 

“I brought up the conversation we had when he asked me if I would be ok with him seeing you, so he had to tease me back.”

“You guys are dorks.” 

“Mm.”

“It’s disgusting how in love you are.”

“It is.” 

“I’m gonna get cavities from how sweet that was.”

“Probably.”

“You’re just going to let me ramble about this, aren’t you?”

“It’s so much fun, though.”

“You’re terrible.” 

“That’s fair.” 

“So what kind of plans do you think Keith has?”

“Hopefully ones that involved not getting out of bed for a week, at least.” 

“Lotor?”

“Yes?”

“Can I kiss you?”

“Please,” Lotor breathed, leaning in and down.


	8. Men Only Want One Thing And It’s Disgusting

It ended up in bed, because of course it did. 

Lotor was fun to kiss. Different from Keith, but no less fun. No less good. 

Lotor was also much more visibly alien than Keith. Sometimes, Lance could forget that Keith wasn’t completely human, but that was impossible to do with Lotor. 

It was good, though. Incredibly good. 

And he discovered things about Lotor, too. 

For instance, Keith didn’t mind having his hair pulled and played with, but Lotor  _ loved _ it. 

Maybe he didn’t blush like Keith, but his skin definitely got warmer, so hot it seemed to burn.

“How far do you want to take this?” Lotor asked finally, pulling away slightly and looking up at Lance, who was kneeling over his lap. 

“I-“ It was not the question Lance expected, and he didn’t have an answer. Hadn’t really thought about it, but now that he was… “Not all the way,” he said. “Not tonight.” 

“Ok.”

“That’s it?”

“Do you want me to argue with you about this? I’d rather not.”

“It’s just,” Lance began, because he felt like he had to explain, “I’ve only ever been with Keith, and I don’t- I definitely want to, but I just… Not tonight.” 

Lotor stroked his hair. “That’s fine. What do you want tonight, then?” 

“Can you touch me?” 

“I am touching you,” Lotor said, a smile playing over his lips. God, he was pretty. 

“You know what I mean.” 

“Hm. Very well.” One of Lotor’s hands strayed to the waistband of Lance’s boxers, and he glanced at Lance for permission.

Lance nodded. It was hard to believe that this was happening; it felt like so many of his dreams, and any moment he’d wake up and-

Lotor slipped his hand into Lance’s boxers and wrapped his hand around his dick. 

“Oh,” Lance breathed. 

“Do you like that?” Lotor asked, thumbing the tip very purposefully. 

“Y-yeah,” Lance said, more moan than word. 

Lotor pressed his lips to Lance’s again, swallowing subsequent sounds.

It was good. Lance could tell that Lotor was paying attention to his every reaction, reading him the same way he’d read enemies on a battlefield. 

“Stop,” Lance got out finally.

Lotor’s hand stilled. “Are you alright?”

Lance nodded. “Yeah, just...intense. Give me a moment?”

“Of course.” Lotor removed his hand from Lance’s boxers and pressed his forehead against Lance’s. “As long as you need.”

“It’s just...different,” Lance said, after a small eternity. 

“Yes.”

“And I’ve… I don’t have a lot of experience. Not like you do. And this is…” He paused, searching for the right word. “ _ Intimate _ .” 

“Mm.” 

“It’s different with Keith. Visceral. Rough, sometimes. Not as...emotional.”

“Do you want to do something different?”

“No, just…. I don’t know. I feel like you can see all the way down to my bones, like I can’t- Like I can’t hide anything. And it’s…”

“Uncomfortable?”

“Intense. Different. I like it, I think, but I’m just not used to it.” 

“I feel the same way.”

“You do?”

“Mm. I’ve had a number of sexual partners over the years, but it’s different when it’s someone you care for. When it’s someone you trust.” 

“And you trust me?” This startled Lance; Lotor was notorious for trusting very few people, a list that practically began and ended with Keith. 

“Against my better judgement, perhaps,” Lotor teased. 

“Can I touch you?” 

“Please.” 

Lance snaked an arm between them and palmed at the bulge in Lotor’s underwear. 

Lotor let his eyes fall shut, and his hips bucked, just slightly, into Lance’s touch. 

“I’ve been curious about this for a while,” Lance admitted. “Like I said, Keith doesn’t really talk about you.”

“So of course you were curious about my dick,” Lotor huffed. 

“Well, Keith’s is basically human. Just...a little bigger than I was expecting. For all I know, you could have tentacles down there.”

Lotor laughed, breathlessly. “I assure you that I don’t.” 

“So, can I see?” 

“If you let me see yours.” 

“Men only want one thing and it’s disgusting,” Lance muttered goodnaturedly. Still, he shimmied out of his boxers, pleased with the way that Lotor’s eyes tracked downwards and darkened. 

“Like what you see?” Lance asked. 

“Very much so, yes.” 

Lance had not expected such an honest answer, and he flushed. “Your turn.” 

Lotor nudged him up onto his knees, then shimmied out of the rest of his clothes like he was used to doing it like this. 

Lance did not have time to ponder that thought it depth, though; his eyes were drawn immediately to Lotor’s newly-revealed cock.

“ _ Oh _ ,” Lance said. 

“Like what you see?” Lotor parroted. 

“I want you to fuck me,” Lance blurted.

Lotor’s eyebrows rose. “Earlier, you said-“

“Not tonight. But in the future. Definitely.”

“Well, it’ll give you something to look forward to.” 

That was for sure. “Can I touch?”

“Please,” Lotor said, though he did take Lance’s hand and guide it to his cock, showing him just exactly how he liked it. 

Lance wasn’t gonna lie; that was pretty hot. 

And then his thumb brushed across the ridges. 

Lotor made a sound deep in his chest, and Lance’s eyes widened. “What-?”

“Most Galra have between two and six ridges,” Lotor said. “Mostly for the pleasure of whomever is being penetrated.”

Lance could imagine. He felt hot all over just thinking about it. “How many do you have?”

Lotor grinned. “Why don’t you count them?”

Lance did, running his thumb over each one, noting how Lotor’s breaths were coming faster and shakier. There were five ridges in total, and Lance… Lance was going to have wet dreams about that, probably. 

“Can you cum from just this?” Lance asked. 

Lotor took a moment to register the question, before nodding shakily. “They’re...very sensitive.”

“I can tell.” 

“Please let me touch you,” Lotor breathed.

It was the please that got Lance; he nodded. This was not at all what he expected, but he couldn’t denied that he liked it. Loved it. 

Lotor’s hand was back on his dick, and it was...too warm, almost hot, but it felt so good, and Lotor set just the right speed, not too fast, with firm even strokes.

Lance choked as his orgasm surprised him; it hit him like a tidal wave, and he barely managed to keep his own hand working Lotor’s cock. 

Not that Lotor lasted much longer than he did.

“Holy shit,” Lance said when he could find words. 

“Mm.” Lotor’s eyes were closed, but he had a satisfied smile on his lips. 

“What that ok? Like, was that enough for you? Are you disappointed, or-?”

“Lance,” Lotor said with a soft laugh. “It was great.” He stretched out across the bed, dragging Lance with him. “Your pleasure is important to me, and you’re not going to have a good time if I try to pressure you into something you don’t want to do.” 

Lance was just going to continually surprised tonight, it seemed. “I...don’t know what to say to that.” 

Lotor kissed his cheek. “You don’t have to say anything.”

“You’re very sweet.”

“Don’t tell anyone. I have a reputation to maintain.”

Lance laughed. 

Lotor got up a few minutes later, and came back with a warm, damp cloth. He cleaned them both up efficiently. “Are you ready to sleep?”

Lance, who, at this point, could barely keep his eyes open, nodded. “Yeah. Good night. And thanks. For everything.”

Lotor curled up next to him and kissed his cheek again. “Good night, Lance.” 


	9. Old Scars

Lance was still asleep when Lotor woke up the next morning. He was just as pretty in his sleep, long dark lashes fanned across his cheeks, hair tousled…

Lotor didn’t deserve this. This was beyond even the most self-indulgent romantic fantasies of his youth.

The only way it would be better was if Keith were here, too, but he would be, in a few days, and Lotor just had to be patient. 

Lance stirred, then woke slowly, groggily. 

“Good morning,” Lotor said. 

“Morning,” Lance mumbled. “Have you been watching me sleep?”

“Only a little,” Lotor admitted.

“It’s creepy,” Lance groused. 

“Can’t help it. You’re just too pretty.” 

That made Lance sputter and flush. “Yeah, well, your hair is pretty.”

“You’re cute when you’re sleepy.”

“I am not cute,” Lance said, affronted. 

“No?”

“Absolutely not. I am adorable, good sir, and don’t you forget that.”

“How could I?” Lotor asked with a laugh. He kissed Lance on the cheek. “Unfortunately, I have an early meeting today, so as much as I would love to stay here with you, I’m afraid I must go prepare myself.” 

Lance pouted melodramatically. “If you must,” he sighed. 

Lotor couldn’t resist giving his cheek another kiss, then climbed out of bed.

He realized his mistake almost immediately, but it was too late; he could feel Lance’s eyes on him. On his back. On the-

He could ignore it, but Lance, unlike Keith, would probably ask, and he couldn’t… He didn’t want that. Didn’t want the pity. 

“There’s thirty-one,” he said sharply, “if you were wondering.” 

“What? Oh. No, that’s not…” Lance coughed self-consciously. “That’s not what I was looking at. Although I have some scar cream if you want.” 

“Then what were you looking at?” Lotor asked crossly, turning around. He didn’t want to face Lance, but it was better than knowing that Lance was looking. 

“...Your ass,” Lance admitted.

Oh. That was...infinitely better. He let the tension drain out of his shoulders. “Thank you for the offer, but I-“ How to explain it? There were a thousand ways he could have dealt with the scars before now. There was a reason he still carried them. “Thank you,” he said firmly. He crossed to the closet and began pulling on clothes. 

“Look, I didn't mean to offend you, or anything.”

“You didn’t. I just… don’t want to talk about it.”

“Ok,” Lance said. “So, will you be back for lunch, or…?”

* * *

It was late by the time everything that needed to be taken care of was. Well, subverting a minor intergalactic crisis could be like that sometimes.

Lance was not asleep. Instead, he was sitting on the edge of the bed, shirtless. “Hey.”

“Hello, Lance.”

“I was wondering, if you don’t mind, that is, if you could help me with something? It’s real easy, I promise, it’s just hard to do on myself.” 

That only piqued Lotor’s curiosity. “What is it?”

Lance smiled self-consciously, then twisted his upper body, turning his back towards Lotor. 

The scar there was impressive. It covered at least a third of Lance’s back, and had probably been caused by some type of explosive. Lotor knew of Galra who hadn’t survived wounds like that, and he knew how fragile humans could be.

But Lance had survived that. And not only had he survived that, he’d continued to fight afterwards. “The scar cream I mentioned earlier? It helps mostly with softening up the scar tissue. Not so much with appearance. I’m just not quite as flexible as I used to be, so…”

“I can help you,” Lotor said.

“Thanks,” Lance said, handing him a small tub. “I really appreciate this.”

Lotor waited for Lance to get situated on his front, with his head pillowed in his folded arms, then knelt over Lance, one knee on each side of his hips. “Is this ok?”

“Better than I imagined,” Lance said. 

Lotor took a small portion of the thick cream and began gently rubbing it into the scar tissue. It has a pleasant scent, something vaguely sweet without being overpowering. 

Lance basically melted into the mattress.

“Still with me?” Lotor asked.

“Kinda,” Lance said. 

“This should have killed you,” Lotor said finally. 

“Would have, probably,” Lance agreed. “Cryopods, though.”

“A marvel of Altean medicine. Galra don’t have a comparable technology.”

“Unrivaled prosthetics, though,”

“I think Alteans could have developed comparable prosthetics if they’d wanted to.”

“Why didn’t they, then?”

“Cultural taboo on the most extreme sorts of bodily enhancement or modification. The Galra have no such taboo.”

“I’ve noticed,” Lance huffed. “Fucking Sendak, man.”

“Well, he’s dead,” Lotor said a little smugly. 

“Thanks for that, I guess. Kinda wish I could’ve paid him back for this, though.”

Lotor’s hands stilled. “For the scar?”

“For his dumbass explosion that almost killed me, yeah. Guy couldn’t even give us a single break. We’d only found out about the Galra in the first place the week before, and here he comes, attacking a bunch of kids who have no idea what the hell they’re doing. But apparently he was the one honorable Galra out there.”

“Sendak was a glorified boot-licker,” Lotor said, “who’d do just about anything if it meant earning my father’s praise.”

Lance laughed. “Sounds about right.” 

“Well, I’d known him for a long time. He was only a few years younger than I was.”

“He seemed so much older though.” 

“My father’s very presence sucked the life out of those who spent too much time with him,” Lotor deadpanned. But it was still true. “And Sendak, of course, was my father’s favorite. What a true Galra soldier should be.”

Lance didn’t say anything for a few minutes. “Alright, that should do it. Do you want me to return the favor, or-“

Lotor froze. “I-“

“Look,” Lance said, “you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. It’s not really my business.”

“I shouldn’t have been so cross about it,” Lotor said. “It’s just...difficult.”

“Yeah, I get that. I know those aren’t battle-wounds.”

Lotor moved so that Lance could sit up. “I wouldn’t say that. I earned them in a battle of wills.” 

“Against your father?” Lance guessed.

“Who else?” Lotor looked away. “He-“ Even the second time around, it was still so hard. “He ordered me whipped for disobeying him, before sending me into exile.”

Lance didn’t say anything, just reached out and took Lotor’s hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. 

And this was not what he expected, even after all the heartfelt conversations they’d had recently. At Keith’s behest. 

But Keith wasn’t here, and it was just the two of them, and… He didn’t have to continue this conversation. He could leave, or change the subject, or a thousand other things.

And he should have. 

He’d been vulnerable before, when he’d had this conversation with Keith, in the wake of his father’s death, his team’s betrayal, the Kral Zera. Vulnerable and looking for someone to teach him how to trust again. How to love. 

He had no such excuse now. 

“My father gave me a small planet to oversee. I was very young at the time -young by Galra standards, anyway - and I tried to work with the people there. Learn their customs and laws, coexist. Sustainably harvest quintessence.

“But that was not what my father had intended. He wanted me to be like him, cruel and obsessive and power-mad, and he saw my efforts as a sign of weakness. So he recalled me to Central Command and had me punished. He made me-“ Lotor took a deep breath. “He made me watch as the witch destroyed that planet, and everyone on it.I’d been there for over a year at that point, and I was starting to know the people, gaining their trust. I’d vowed to protect them, and I- I couldn’t.”

“It’s not your fault,” Lance said quietly. “You were doing what you thought was best.”

Lotor shrugged, a little despondently. Even Keith didn’t know some of this. He’d never shared it before. “I should have known better. Even as a child, I could see what he was. What he was rapidly becoming.”

“It’s not your fault,” Lance said, more firmly. “Your father was a monster, but you aren’t.”

And suddenly… Suddenly Lotor realized that was what he’d needed to hear for such a long time. How often had he had to say, “I am  _ not _ my father” in order to convince someone of his intentions? In order to convince himself? 

But he’d needed to hear it, to have someone else say it, and mean it, for him to finally believe it. 

He let out a shuddery breath. It would have been far easier to go back to the time before Keith, back to when emotional honesty was something he only dreamed about. 

“Thank you, Lance,” he said. “You don’t know what that means to me.” 

Lance flushed and scratched the back of his neck, looking away. “Yeah, well, how could I? I can’t even imagine all the things you’ve gone through. But I can- I can listen, right? Give you a shoulder to cry on, if you need it.”

“I still appreciate it,” Lotor said, leaning over to nuzzle the top of Lance’s head. 

“This is kind of weird,” Lance said after a few moments. “How does Keith handle being married to, basically, a giant purple space cat?”

“He loves me,” Lotor said, a little relieved at the new direction this was going. He nipped the top part of Lance’s ear. 

“Can you imagine what would happen if anyone found out how affectionate you are? Can’t even keep your hands to yourself, can you?”

“You love it,” Lotor said, not in the least put off by Lance’s faux-grumpiness. 

“...Yeah,” Lance admitted. 


	10. Lance’s Mama didn’t raise no quitter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lotor drinks his “respecting other people’s boundaries” juice.

The next few days passed easily. Affectionately. 

Lance wasn’t kidding when he said Lotor couldn’t keep his hands to himself. Not that he minded. Lance was kind of a tactile person to begin with, so this was basically heaven. 

Most of it was not overtly sexual, but Lance didn’t mind that, either. Soft kisses, nuzzles, the occasional nip to one of Lance’s ears or his throat… All very good. 

Somewhere along the way, Lance supposed he’d convinced himself that his relationship with Keith was more of a “friends-with-benefits” kind of thing. It wasn’t really what he wanted; he’d wanted Keith’s heart, too, not just sex. 

But he supposed, based on his conversations with Lotor, Keith did care about him as more than just someone he had sex with from time-to-time. It was just difficult for Keith to show that.

Lotor had no such difficulties. In fact, they hadn’t really even had sex, other than a few exchanged hand-jobs, one of which cemented Lance’s belief that the shower was no place to get frisky. None of this stopped Lotor from cuddling him as they drifted off to sleep, or kissing him good morning, or walking just a little too closely in the hallways. 

Lance knew that, if he asked Lotor to stop, he would have. He just didn’t want him to. 

It was always so rushed with Keith. When they had sex, it was usually after a battle, their blood still rushing, adrenaline and the thrill of being alive driving them on. 

That hadn’t changed since the war ended, and it was still good. 

It was just… The slow build of this, whatever this was, was good too. 

And he could have both. 

“Lotor?”

“Hm?”

“Can I talk to you?”

Lotor set his tablet down on the bedside table and turned to face him. “Sure.” 

Lance squirmed a little under Lotor’s full attention. He could be just as intense as Keith, in his own way. “I want you to fuck me,” he said, as firmly as he could. He couldn’t fight off the rising blush though. 

Lotor’s eyes darkened. “That’s not talking.”

“No, I just thought we should talk first.”

“A reasonable plan.”

“I’ve never…” Lance swallowed. “I thought you should know that no one’s ever fucked me before.”

“No? Not even Keith?”

“We’ve had intercrural a few times, but usually he rides me.”

“He does look good like that.”

“Yeah, well. That’s definitely true. Just… Keith’s the only other person I’ve been with, and he’s never…” Lance made a couple of crude hand gestures. 

“I’ll be gentle,” Lotor promised. 

“I know. I’m just a little nervous, is all.”

Lotor nodded. “We don’t have to. Ever, if you never want to.”

“Oh, no, I definitely want to. I’ve been thinking about it, you know, how you could hold me down so easily if you wanted, take what you want from me, and there’d be nothing I could do to stop you…”

“And is that what you want?”

“Yeah.”

Lotor frowned thoughtfully. “Very well. But. If you change your mind, or if I do something you don’t like, or anything...”

“You won’t. I trust you.” He caught Lotor’s gaze with his, staring him dead in the eye.

Lotor studied him a moment, his eyes searching for...something. “If you tell me to stop, I will. No questions. The last thing I want is to hurt you.” And then he smiled -smirked -all the seriousness he’d just shown washed away like writing on a beach. “Unless you want me to, of course.”

“I’ve seen what you do to Keith,” Lance said. 

Lotor’s grin showed just a hint of fang. “Alright. Now?”

“If it’s not too much trouble,” Lance said drily. 

“Hm,” Lotor said, like he was deciding. “Very well.”

“You’re terrible,” Lance said, but he kissed Lotor, throwing his arms around his neck, settling into his lap. 

Lotor returned the kiss, quickly dominating it, and Lance melted into it. He was getting hard already, and before long, he was grinding up against Lotor, moaning into the kiss.

Lotor pulled away finally, and that made Lance whine. He pressed a kiss to Lance’s forehead. “How do you want it?” Lotor asked, and Lance was gratified to hear the breathlessness in Lotor’s voice. 

“Like I told you,” Lance said. 

“It will be easier from behind,” Lotor told him. 

“Yeah, but then I can’t kiss you.”

“A compelling argument,” Lotor conceded. He tugged on the hem on Lance’s shirt. “Can I-?”

Lance lifted his arms, and Lotor pulled his shirt off. 

“You look so pretty when you’re flushed like this,” Lotor said, his eyes roving up and down Lance’s chest.

The flush, which extended down to Lance’s bellybutton, only got darker at Lotor’s praise. 

Lance reached for the catches at the back of Lotor’s outfit -he was pretty sure it was a one-piece -and said, “Your turn.”

Lotor rolled his eyes indulgently, but obliged, shrugging out of the outfit entirely. (Lance had been right.) 

Lotor had a number of battle scars, but most were old. Only one stood out, a vibrant pink-purple, just below his rib cage. Lance couldn’t stop himself from reaching out and tracing it with gentle fingertips. 

Lotor’s breath hitched. 

“Is this alright?” Lance asked, glancing up.

Lotor nodded. 

“One day, you’re gonna have to tell me the stories behind each scar,” Lance said. 

“I will,” Lotor promised. “But not tonight.” He very purposefully brushed his hand against the front of Lance’s pants.

Lance moaned, and Lotor smiled, almost evilly. 

“More,” Lance demanded. 

Lotor kissed him, and continued rubbing him through his pants. It wasn’t enough -not nearly enough -but Lance was still concerned that he’d come in his pants like he was sixteen all over again. 

He whined when Lotor took his hand away, though. Lotor gave him a final peck on the lips and toyed with the button on Lance’s pants; he had opened his mouth to ask, but Lance spoke first.

“Yes, off!”

“Eloquent as ever, I see.” But he did help Lance out of his pants and boxers in one go, leaving Lance completely bare.

What blood wasn’t in Lance’s dick was just underneath his skin, and he was hot all over, and he needed -wanted -

“Beautiful,” Lotor breathed, his eyes roving across every inch of Lance’s skin. 

Lance’s dick twitched.

“You like that, don’t you?” Lotor asked, but he already knew the answer. He had to. Lance had barely been touched and he felt like he was about to burst. “Lay back for me, lovely.”

Lance choked back a moan at that, but he did as Lotor said, laying back against the pillows. 

He wasn’t especially self-conscious about his body, and he didn’t mind the way Lotor’s gaze lingered before he turned away completely to rummage through the drawer of the bedside table. 

He set a small tube on the bed before standing and removing his undergarments. 

Lance watched unabashedly; he was somewhat used to this display because of Keith, and really, he did like looking at both of his gorgeous boyfriends. 

And he was allowed to, because they were  _ his _ . 

Lotor’s cock was a little daunting, but Lance’s mama hadn’t raised a quitter. 

Lotor caught his eye and smirked, like he knew exactly what Lance was thinking. It probably hadn’t been too hard to tell, since Lance had been openly ogling his cock. 

Then Lotor crawled up the bed and over Lance, so that he could kiss him again. It was obvious that Lotor wasn’t as unaffected as he seemed by the way he rutted his cock against Lance’s hip, and that… That pleased Lance, on some deep level.  _ He’d _ gotten Lotor to this state, no one else. 

He tugged Lotor’s hair, and Lotor moaned into the kiss. It seemed almost to reverberate through Lance’s whole body.

“Fuck me,” Lance demanded. 

Lotor laughed. “I will. But first, I’m going to finger you open, watch you writhe on my fingers.”

Lance swallowed audibly. 

“Relax,” Lotor said. “I’ll make it good for you.” 

“Cocky, aren’t you?”

Lotor raised an eyebrow, and rutted particularly firmly against Lance’s hip. “You tell me.” 

Lance moaned; he’d just realized that Lotor’s cock was going to be  _ inside _ him. It seemed so obvious, but it had just occurred to him, and- “ _ Fuck _ .” 

Lotor sat up and grabbed the bottle of lube. In short order, he was pressing one finger against Lance’s entrance. “Relax,” Lotor repeated. 

Lance did, and the finger slid in easily. It felt weird, but good, and he spread his legs a little wider, wanting just a little more. 

Lotor crooked his finger, like he was searching for something, and then Lance was arching up off the bed in surprise and pleasure. 

Lotor’s other hand pinned his hips down. “I told you,” Lotor said, but Lance couldn’t be bothered to remember what Lotor had told him, and frankly, he didn’t care. His heels slid on the sheets as he tried to push his hips back, chasing that beautiful, foreign pleasure. 

Lotor took his time adding a second and ultimately, a third finger, and by the time he pulled all three free, Lance was convinced that he’d never been harder in his life. He’d certainly never felt like this before. 

“You could probably come from just my fingers, couldn’t you?” Lotor asked. “Look how beautiful you are like this, and I haven’t even fucked you yet.” 

“Then do it already,” Lance managed to get out; he wasn’t sure  _ how _ . He could barely think. 

“You’re sure?” Lotor asked, all seriousness. 

“Yes, just fuck me already,” Lance whined. He spread his legs as invitingly as he could. 

“If you insist,” Lotor said in a bored tone, but Lance knew better. Lotor leaned down to kiss Lance. “Remember to breathe.”

And then Lotor was pressing in; the first part was easy, with that smooth taper that was utterly alien.

Lance choked when Lotor slipped the first ridge in, and Lotor stilled completely. He watched Lance’s face intently, and Lance had no idea how he had such restraint; it was all Lance could do to not thrust up into Keith while he adjusted when he rode him. 

Finally, Lance nodded. “C’mon, I want it.”

It was... _ good _ . That was the only word Lance could come up with to describe it. He felt so full in a way he’d never felt before, and it was like he was burning up from the inside, and Lotor was  _ everywhere _ ...

By the time Lotor was fully seated in Lance, Lance was certain he’d ascended to a far better plane of existence. Each of those lovely, toe-curling ridges sent electric sparks up his spine, making him shake and gasp, and that only made Lotor grin.

If Lance hadn’t melted completely, he would have tried to think of a way to wipe that grin off Lotor’s face. 

“Still with me?” Lotor murmured finally, bringing Lance back to the present. 

Lance nodded. “Y-yeah.” Even like this, with Lotor above him and inside him, it was incredible, despite the fact that he wasn’t moving, just waiting.

The heat that had been building low in Lance’s stomach spread, and he needed… He needed…

“Please,” he breathed.

Lotor studied his face a moment, then began to move, slowly, achingly slow, at first. It fanned the fire, certainly, but Lance still needed  _ more _ . 

And then Lotor grabbed one of Lance’s thighs and hitched his leg over his hip, the points of his claws digging in, pinprick-bright, and the new angle made Lance see stars. 

“Please, please, please,” he said mindlessly, unsure what he was even asking for; it had the effect of making Lotor speed up, just a little, but the speed didn’t matter, not when it was so hard and deep…

Lance didn’t even realize he’d moved until his ankles were crossed in the small of Lotor’s back. 

“Very good,” Lotor said. “That’s it. You’re doing so well, lovely…”

Lance whined at the praise. He didn’t want to love it, but he did. It was almost too much like this. Too much and not enough. 

Lotor released his thigh in favor of pinning Lance’s hands above his head, their fingers intertwined. Lotor’s hair framed his face, a veil against everything but this. “Just like this, right?”

Lance nodded. This was so much gentler than he’d dreamed of, but it was better, too. He hadn’t realized how much he’d wanted it, just like this. 

“You’re so good for me, lovely,” Lotor murmured, before capturing Lance's mouth in a kiss, just as deep and gentle and hard as his thrusts. 

“Are you close?” Lotor asked. “You’re so beautiful and good, I’m not going to last much longer.”

Lance nodded, but he gasped, “I need, I just need, a little…”

Lotor kissed him again, and untangled one of his hands from Lance’s, then reached between them.

Lance clutched at Lotor’s other hand and his hair when Lotor finally touched his cock; Lotor hummed appreciatively, and thumbed at the head of Lance’s cock just so, and Lance saw white as he came.

Lotor came soon after, but he continued to stroke Lance until he was whining with oversensitivity. 

Lance was never going to move again. It would never be worth it; nothing could match up to this experience.

Pleasure still coursed through his veins, making him float above every worry and problem he’d ever had.

He didn’t even realize he’d been crying until Lotor wiped away his tears. 

“Are you alright?” Lotor asked, his voice full of concern.

“I’ve never been better in my life,” Lance said honestly. 

Lotor laughed and kissed him, slow and sweet. 


	11. Keith’s Back!

Keith slipped into the Suite as quietly as he could. It was very late -or very early- but he hadn’t wanted to spend one more minute away than he had to. He was exhausted from traveling half the night, but it was worth it.

The bedroom was dark, but he could see well enough by the soft purple emergency lights along the floorboards. 

He knew things were going well, based on Lotor’s updates, but it was still something of a surprise to see Lotor spooning Lance in his sleep. 

It did Keith’s heart good to see it. He hadn’t wanted to end it with either of them, but he couldn’t justify making all three of them unhappy by continuing something that obviously wasn’t working. 

He knew how it would play out, too: he might have told Lotor that he’d break it off with Lance, but Lotor wasn’t an idiot; he knew how much Lance meant to Keith. So he’d do what he thought was best, and step aside, impose a distance between himself and Keith. Oh, he’d be perfectly polite about it; they still had an empire to run together, after all. But it would break his heart, just as it would break Keith’s. 

Lotor would have his reasons for doing it. No one else saw Lotor’s self-sacrificial streak, because he only ever let Keith see it, but it was there, and strong, and Lotor would do anything to make Keith happy. Even if it meant giving up the only person he’d ever loved. 

So Keith was glad it wasn’t going to come to that. You didn’t spoon someone if you didn’t like them. If you couldn’t put up with them. 

He undressed down to his boxers and slipped into bed next to Lotor, loosely embracing his husband from behind. God, he’d missed this. He pressed a soft kiss to the nape of Lotor’s neck and closed his eyes. 

It didn’t take him long to fall asleep after that. 

* * *

He woke again some time later, surrounded by warmth.

It took him a moment to realize that was because Lance had migrated to his other side, and now he was in the middle. 

It was very nice, actually. 

“Good morning, Sleepyhead,” Lance said when he noticed Keith was awake. 

“What time is it?” Keith asked. 

“You don’t want to know,” Lance replied, kissing the corner of Keith’s mouth. “Let’s just say it’s a good thing Lotor cleared your schedule for today.”

Lotor, who was busy nuzzling Keith’s neck, hummed an agreement. 

“How will we possibly fill all that time,” Keith said drily. 

“You should fuck me,” Lance said.

Keith turned red, but before he could answer, Lotor removed himself from Keith’s neck long enough to say, “Breakfast first.”

”Is he always like this?” Lance asked. 

“Only in private.”

“I have a reputation,” Lotor huffed, before sitting up. “And you, Lance, are going to earn one if you keep talking like that.”

“What can I say? You’ve awoken something in m-“

Keith clapped a hand over Lance’s mouth. “It’s too early for this, though I am thrilled you’re both getting along. Let me eat, and then we can discuss who’s going to fuck who and when.” 

Lotor scooped Keith up. Keith, who was used to this, only smiled and put his arms around Lotor’s neck. He was always very physically affectionate when Keith was away for more than a day or two, but this was a little more intense than usual. Still, Keith loved it. 

“You didn’t wake us up when you came in,” Lotor said softly. 

“It was late, and you looked so peaceful. Besides, I was exhausted.”

“Should have split the flight up, then.”

“Just wanted to come home. Didn’t want to wait any longer.”

Lotor kissed him gently. “We missed you too.” He gently set Keith down in a chair at the breakfast table, then pulled another one up for himself; Lance had taken the other seat.

“How come you’ve never carried me?” Lance pouted. Well, fake-pouted. It was too early for real pouting. 

“Next time,” Lotor promised. 

Lance flushed. 

It really did make Keith’s heart swell with happiness. He never could have imagined himself here, like this, loved and in love, and happy, before. 

Now he couldn’t imagine life without it. 

It scared him so much; the war was over, but space was still dangerous, and he could lose either of them at any time, and then… 

But it was no use dwelling on distant possibilities, not when happiness was in front of him right now.

He listened to Lance and Lotor fill him in on Earth stuff and minor things that happened during his absence while he ate. 

FInally, he said, “I have a surprise for both of you, but it will take a few days to reach. The ship’s already on a new course.” 

“And what, pray tell, is this surprise?” Lotor asked.

“If I told you,” Keith said with a quick grin, “it wouldn’t be a surprise, now would it? But I think you’ll like it.”

Lotor narrowed his eyes skeptically. 

“It better not be like one of Allura’s surprises,” Lance said with his arms crossed. “I’m not gonna survive another one of those.”

“I said you’d like it. In the meantime, we’ll just have to find something to do until we get there.” 

“I believe you said you had plans,” Lotor reminded him. 

“I did say that, didn’t I?”

“Were you going to share these plans?” 

“Well, they’ve changed a little.”

“So they’re probably kinkier than they were before,” Lance said.

“Oh definitely,” Keith said with a grin. “But if you don’t think you can handle it…” 

“I can handle whatever you guys throw at me, and that’s a fact, ok? Mama didn’t raise no quitter.” 

* * *

Keith wondered if Lance had ever regretted the things that came out of his mouth. Not that Lance would ever admit to it if he did. 

He did enjoy the view though: Lance had his legs thrown over Lotor’s shoulders, and Lotor was eating him out with the same tactical mind that had out-maneuvered much larger fleets during the war. 

Lance was wrecked already, and Keith was nowhere near done with him. 

He had, of course, told Lance he could tap out anytime he wanted or needed, but he doubted Lance would. His competitive streak had never really gone away. 

Lance came abruptly, and Keith did a double-take; Lance usually couldn’t come without some contact to his dick, but he hadn’t been given any yet.

Lotor pulled away when Lance began whining with overstimulation. He grinned at Keith, seemingly pleased with himself.

As he should be; Keith knew exactly how talented he was with his mouth. “I’m impressed,” Keith told him. “I didn’t think he’d come from that.”

“You told me to eat him out until he came. I’m just following my emperor’s orders.” 

“That’s playing dirty.”

“You like it.”

Which was true, but it also wasn’t the point. “Go use some mouthwash. I wanna kiss you.”

“As my emperor commands,” Lotor replied with a wide grin. He left before Keith could comment.

Keith turned his attention back to Lance. “Still hanging in there?”

Lance gave him a shaky thumbs-up. 

“Lance, buddy, I hate to tell you this, but we are nowhere near done. Apparently Galra have virility cycles? I’m in the peak of mine right now, and I think Lotor mentioned something about his cycle catching up with mine? So you are fucked.”

Lance laughed weakly. “Heh, your cycles synced up.” Then he propped himself up on his elbows. “Are you telling me that Galra have  _ heats _ ?” 

“No! I’m just...hornier than usual. And I have basically no refractory period.”

“And you never once considered that maybe I want to get fucked into the mattress?”

“Lance, you’re a fucking twig. I could break you over my knee.”

“That’d be hot.” 

“God, Lance!”

Lotor returned from the bathroom. “If you want him to be quiet, you could fuck him. Shuts him right up.”

“You’re not helping!” Keith turned back to Lance. “You have no sense of self-preservation, do you?”

Lance snorted. “You’re one to talk.”

“Enough bickering,” Lotor said. He kissed Keith, and his mouth tasted like the sort-of mint of Galra mouthwash. He was, like Keith, still dressed in his boxers, and like Keith, there was a sizable bulge in the front. 

Lotor ground his hand against the front of Keith’s boxers. Keith’s hips jolted upwards, into that contact; he’d refrained from touching himself while Lotor ate Lance out, but now he was starting to regret that. It also gave him a few ideas. 

He tugged on Lotor’s hair to get his attention. “I wanna play a little game.”

“Like I said: kinky,” Lance said, flopping back onto the bed. “I fucking knew it.”

“What sort of game?” Lotor asked, his eyes narrowed. 

Keith grinned. “I am going to fuck Lance, and you are going to sit in that chair and watch while I do it.”

“That’s hardly a game at all. That sounds...delightful, in fact.”

Keith’s grin broadened. “Well, I know how much you like hearing about what Lance and I get up to. Actually seeing it though? Probably’d drive you crazy, wouldn’t it?”

“Probably,” Lotor agreed easily. “But I feel as if there’s a catch.”

“It wouldn’t be a game if there wasn’t.” 

Before Keith quite knew what was happening, Lotor had him on his back, his hands pinned over his head, Lotor straddling his hips in just the right place… He couldn’t stop the moan from escaping. 

“What’s the catch, Keith?” Lotor asked. Demanded. His eyes were dark, his pupils huge, like he was high on this. Probably was, in a way; hormones and brain chemicals were no joke. 

“You’re not gonna touch yourself at all while I do it, and if you’re good, then maybe Lance will let you fuck him when I’m done.”

Lotor sat back a bit, releasing Keith's hands. “And if I’m not good?”

“Then we’ll deal with it when the time comes.” Keith reached up to stroke Lotor’s cheek. “But you’ll be good, won’t you? You always are.”

Lotor swallowed hard against the moan Keith knew was bubbling up, and nuzzled Keith’s hand, very much like a cat. “I’ll be good.” He let Keith sit up, then kissed him again, hard, in a way that left Keith reeling.

He was gone before Keith could react, already settling into the nearby armchair, his hands on the armrests and his legs comfortably splayed. 

Keith hoped he didn’t ruin the armchair too much; he had fond memories of that chair. 

“Do try to put on a good show for me,” Lotor said flippantly, as if he was in charge of the whole thing. As if he wasn’t incredibly turned on. As if this had been his idea. 

He could think that all he liked, but everyone in the room knew it simply wasn’t true. 

Keith turned again to Lance. “All this sounds good to you?”

“Fuck yes.” Then Lance flushed. “I hope you don’t mind, but while you were doing your power play thing with Lotor, I kind of got started without you?” He help up the tube of lube with one hand. His other hand was covered in lube. 

It didn’t take a genius to figure out what Lance had been doing. “Fuck,” Keith said. “Show me.”

“Show...you?” 

“You’re the one who wanted to be fucked into the mattress. I just want to make sure you’re adequately prepared.” 

“ _ Now _ you’re the reasonable one,” Lance huffed, but he spread his legs a little. He wasn’t quite fully hard again, but he ignored his dick as he reached between his thighs to his entrance. He pressed two fingers in easily.

“Add another,” Keith said.

Lance complied easily, moaning either at the stretch or the commanding tone Keith had taken. It didn’t matter which right now, but Keith had a feeling that Lance liked to be ordered around a little. 

“Are you ready?” Keith asked.

“Been ready.” Then Lance grinned. “If you had let us know you were coming back last night, maybe I wouldn’t have let Lotor fuck me yesterday, so you could be first.”

“Probably a good thing I didn’t then. He's so much more gentle than I am. Just wanna wreck you, not break you completely.” 

Lance’s free hand moved to grip the base of his cock tightly. “Fucking christ, Keith.” 

“I warned you,” Keith growled. It was more of a playful growl than anything else, but it had Lance’s chest heaving, his eyes clenching shut. “Tell me how you want it.” 

“I- I- Fuck, I-“ 

Keith grabbed Lance’s chin. “Well? Can’t answer? Perhaps we should ask Lotor.” 

Lance whined. “C’mon, I don’t care how, just-“

Keith looked over his shoulder at Lotor. “Well?”

Lotor’s claws had unsheathed and were buried in the armrests; it took him a moment to formulate an answer. “Wanna-“ It had been a while since Keith had heard Lotor sound this wrecked. “Wanna see your faces. Wanna watch, Keith,  _ please… _ ” 

Keith nudged Lance up onto his knees. “Sound good to you?” 

Lance nodded.

Keith kicked off his boxers and moved so that he was behind Lance, pressed tight up against his back; Lance seemed so much smaller since Keith had finished his final growth spurt, but it was so much more obvious like this. He hooked his chin over Lance’s shoulder. 

They faced Lotor now, who was trembling with the effort of following Keith’s orders. 

“He looks beautiful, doesn’t he?” Keith murmured to Lance, loud enough that Lotor could hear, too. “Just for us. He’s so good. Can you be good, too, Lance?”

“Y-yeah,” Lance breathed. 

“On your elbows,” Keith said, pressing one hand gently between Lance’s shoulder blades. Lance went easily.

Keith felt Lotor’s gaze like a tangible thing, like a physical touch. Once, Keith probably would have been embarrassed by this sort of display, but now… Why should he be embarrassed? These were the two men he loved deeply, passionately, and as long as everyone was having fun…

He nudged Lance’s knees a little further apart, so his back arched just so. “Ready?”

“Jesus Christ, Keith, I already told you-  _ Fuck _ !” 

“Relax,” Keith told him as he bottomed out. He held still, more for his own benefit than Lance’s. Lance seemed to be in no discomfort at all, but Keith needed a moment. 

Not that Lance let him have a long moment; in no time at all, Lance was whining and pressing back impatiently. “Thought you said you were gonna fuck me.”

“I did.” Keith pulled almost all the way out, then thrust back in in a single fluid motion.

Whatever else Lance was going to say dissolved into a wordless moan, and he dropped his head. 

Keith tugged on Lance’s hair as he kept fucking him. “No, look at him. He wanted to watch, remember? Wanted a good show. Let him see you.”

Lance moaned again, louder, but Lotor had been right: Lance wasn’t  _ speaking _ anymore. 

“Please, Keith,” Lotor begged, and Keith knew then that he’d really gotten Lotor worked up, because he  _ never _ begged. “Please. Haven’t I been good? Please, just let me-“

“No,” Keith said sharply. “I’m almost done, and then you can have your turn.”

Lotor whined, but he nodded anyway.

“Do you want to come now,” Keith asked Lance, “or do you want to wait until Lotor’s in you?”

It took Lance a moment to respond. “I- I’ll wait.”

Keith hummed in agreement, then nipped at the junction of Lance’s neck and shoulder.

It only took a couple more thrusts for him to finish, and he slumped over Lance’s back for a minute while he caught his breath.                                                

Lance squirmed underneath him, and finally Keith had to pull out or risk getting hard again. 

Without Keith’s hands on his hips to hold him up, Lance collapsed. 

“Need a minute?” Keith asked, flopping down off to one side and stroking Lance’s sweaty hair out of his face. 

“I’m good. Bring it,” Lance said. 

“Hm. Well, I suppose Lotor has been good after all. He deserves something, don’t you think?”

“Keith,  _ please _ ,” Lotor practically sobbed. 

Keith pretended to consider for a moment. “Very well. Come over here.” 

Lotor actually had to spend a moment digging his claws out of the armrests, but despite that, he was on the bed almost as soon as Keith got the words out.

“Kiss me,” Keith demanded. 

Lotor did, reaching over to cup Keith’s neck as he did, pouring his desperation into the kiss. It was strange to see Lotor so out of control, but it did things to Keith’s libido, that was for sure.  _ He’d _ gotten Lotor this riled up; hardly anyone else could say that. 

Keith broke the kiss so he could help Lotor out of his boxers. “You were so good,” Keith murmured. “You did exactly as I asked. Always so good for me.”

Lotor made small noises in the back of his throat that weren’t quite whines or moans, but something in between. His chest heaved and he was trembling, pushed almost to his limits. 

Keith nuzzled against his throat before pulling away. “Lance?”

“How do you want us to…?” Lance asked, flushing. Of all the things they had done thus far, this was what got him flustered? 

“In my lap,” Lotor said. Then he turned to Keith. “Please?”

Keith nodded. “However you want.”

Lance climbed into Lotor’s lap without further prompting, throwing his arms around Lotor’s neck and kissing him.

Keith leaned back against the pillows and stroked his cock. He hadn’t been joking about his currently non-existent refractory period. It was both a blessing and a curse. 

Lotor had to break the kiss when Lance finally sank down on his cock. He buried his face in Lance’s neck, but Keith could hear him panting, desperately trying to maintain his last bit of control.                                              

He was truly beautiful like this, and Keith told him.

Lotor sobbed, and maybe it had been Keith’s plan to wreck Lance, but Lotor was the one being completely broken down into his component parts, and only two people in the universe had the honor -the privilege -of seeing him like this. 

Lance lifted itself up onto his knees and began riding Lotor, slow at first, but he sped up a little when Lotor grabbed his hips.

Keith could quite easily imagine how Lance felt, as he’d been in that position before, and he loved it; the remembered pleasure and the show in front of him made him come again.

It didn’t take much longer for Lotor and Lance to follow suit, not with how long they’d been pent up, not with the way Lance pulled Lotor’s hair, not with the way Lotor mouthed at the column of Lance’s throat. 

Lotor came with a choked-off wail, and Lance, for once, came almost silently, as if all the sound had been fucked out of him. 

Keith let them all catch their breath before helping Lance off of Lotor’s lap and coaxing them both to lie down.

“Thank you so much for doing this for me,” Keith said. He kissed Lance on the cheek and stroked Lotor’s hair. 

“It wasn’t like you were twisting our arms,” Lance said. “That was fun, and we should do it again sometime. When I can move.” He was a little breathless, but otherwise sounded completely unaffected. 

Keith scowled. He was just going to have to get more creative. 

He glanced over at Lotor and noticed the tear stains streaking down his cheeks. “Hey, are you alright? It wasn’t too much for you, was it?”

Lotor shook his head. “No. Just...intense. Overwhelming.”

“If you needed to stop, all you had to do was tell me and I would have.”

“I know. Wanted to be good for you.”

“And you were.” Keith kissed him chastely. “But if you need to stop, you have to tell me. I don’t want to hurt you, or…”

“So careful,” Lotor said fondly. He pressed his forehead against Keith’s. “I’m fine. This was...good. Not something I want to do every day, but good. Cathartic.”

“So you’re really alright?” 

“Yes. I’d tell you if I wasn’t. You know that.”

“Mm.” Keith did know that; he was the only person Lotor trusted with his vulnerabilities. 

Or, maybe not the only person, he thought, looking over at Lance, who was mostly asleep by this point. But one of the few. 

He woke Lance up long enough to get him to drink some water and clean him up, before doing the same for Lotor. 

Finally, when everything was taken care of, he allowed Lotor to pull him down into his embrace. He felt leaden anyway, and tired, and Lotor was always super cuddly after intense sex; he did not even remember falling asleep. 


	12. What Is Love? (Baby Don’t Hurt Me)

Lotor was vaguely aware of his surroundings, awake, but not quite all there. 

It was peaceful, sitting in the warm, almost hot, water, distantly aware of Keith and Lance talking on the other side of the tub. If he chose, he could have made out the words, but this was a place beyond words, beyond feelings, beyond his own body.

He liked it here; it was too bad he was generally far too on-edge to reach this place, always too aware of his surroundings to truly and completely relax. 

This place was strange, too; it was like he could  _ almost _ see something beyond his usual perception, and perhaps he could  _ almost _ hear it, too, and all he had to do was  _ give into it… _

He wouldn’t; he had spent his life not giving in, and he wasn’t about to start now. 

“Lotor?” Keith’s voice filtered through, suddenly close, pulling him back to the surface. 

He opened one eye. “Hm?” He had never felt quite this relaxed in his life, and he wanted to hold onto it just a little bit longer. 

“You alright there? You kinda spaced out there for a few minutes.”

It had only been a few minutes? It felt like entire universes had lived and died, and he was watching, an omnipresent observer. “Never better,” he replied honestly. “Just...very relaxed, I suppose.”

“I wanted to know if you’d let me wash your hair?” Lance asked.

“Sure,” Lotor said. He might not have agreed to it in a different state, but even his bones seemed molten and leaden now, and perhaps -though he’d never ask for it -it might be nice to be taken care of, pampered, even in such a small way. 

He moved so that Lance could sit behind him, and tilted his head back so that Lance could reach.

Lance chatted the entire time, but the words escaped Lotor, for all that he attempted to pay attention. Lance’s hands were...too talented, really, skilled at finding every spot on his scalp that made Lotor melt a little more. 

He was distantly, vaguely aware of the small sounds of pleasure he made, and in a different state, he might have been mortified, but he had nothing to fear here, now. 

The thought jolted through him like lightning. He  _ did _ have nothing to fear in this second. He was perfectly safe here. No one would hurt him, or use him, or disparage him, or…

Because that wasn’t what you did to people you loved. 

And, as unlikely as it was, Keith and Lance  _ loved _ him. 

Of course, Keith  _ said _ it all the time, but people said things they didn’t mean. 

But Keith meant it. And Lance, though he’d never said it, expressed it, and Lotor…

Lotor was wondering what he had done to deserve this. He was deeply, intimately aware of his own flaws, his own shortcomings, and had come to the conclusion at some point in his long, long life that he was unworthy of love. Undeserving of it. 

And as much as he didn’t want to admit it, he needed it. Desperately. 

What were the odds that he had fallen in love with two beautiful,  _ good _ people who actually loved him back? 

“Lotor?” Keith again, softer now, closer. Keith’s thumb swiped along his cheekbone, and Lotor realized he was crying. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Lotor said. “I love you both so much, and I can’t believe how lucky I am that you love me back. I don’t deserve this, but I am so incredibly grateful.”

“Hey, no. Everyone deserves love. Especially you. I just wish it hadn’t taken ten thousand years for you to find it.” 

“It was worth waiting for.”

Lance sniffed heavily. “Why is there always so much space dust everywhere?” He paused. “ _ You _ love  _ me _ ?” 

“This was not how I intended to tell you,” Lotor said with a small laugh. Even so, he braced himself; he thought Lance felt the same way, but. 

But he was still glad Lance was behind him, so he couldn’t see his face, just in case Lance ran, too. 

Lotor had forgiven Keith for it the moment Keith told him to leave, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. And sure, it had worked out, but. 

But Lance was a different person, and it might not, this time. 

Either way, he was hoping he didn’t have to get stabbed this time. 

But then there was a gentle press of lips to the nape of his neck. “I love you too,” Lance murmured. “Both of you. I’m not sure why you guys love me, but I- I’m not gonna argue with it, you know? It’s enough to know that you guys feel the same way.” 

“Oh hell,” Keith said roughly, “now I’m crying.” 

* * *

It was enough, Lotor decided later. The how and why didn’t matter, and it wasn’t a question of  _ deserving _ anything. Some things simply  _ were _ . 

There were, undoubtedly, universes where his life was tragedy from beginning to end, but this wasn’t one of them, and that was enough, too. 

They were dried and dressed after their bath, lounging on the bed -Lotor was continually glad it was as large as it was; sometimes he liked to stretch out -when Keith reached into the drawer on his side of the bed.

As a rule, Lotor stayed out of Keith’s drawer, and Keith stayed out of his, so Lotor had no idea what Keith pulled out. 

At least, at first. He recognized the style of box as soon as he got a good look at it. 

“Lance?” Keith asked. “Maybe this is...rushing into things, but I- Well, I know that you sometimes feel like a third wheel, and you’re not. I want you here, and Lotor wants you here-“ Lotor nodded at that; he did -“and I’ll do whatever it takes to make you feel welcome, and um… I mean, I don’t want you to feel obligated to stay, or anything, but-“ Keith held out the small box to Lance.

Lance glanced at the box, then back up at Keith. “Keith…”

“Lotor told me that you felt that what we had wasn’t a- an emotional thing. Just sex. But it wasn’t, for me, anyway, and I realized I never told you that I loved you, and I do, deeply, but I wasn’t- I didn’t think you felt the same way. But if you do -and I hope you do- then…”

“Slow down, Cowboy,” Lance said fondly. “I said that I love you. Feels like I’ve loved you forever.” He opened the box. 

As Lotor had expected, there was a plain gold ring, a match to the ones he and Keith wore. 

Lance let out a breath. Not a sigh, not really; more like he’d been holding a breath. “Is this a- a proposal?”

“If you want it to be,” Keith said. “We don’t have to formalize anything, if you don’t want to, but I’d like that.”

“My mama’s gonna insist on a big Catholic wedding.”

“If you mother can find a Catholic priest willing to do a gay polyamorous wedding, I’ll do it. Lotor?”

“I have no idea what half of those words mean, but if you both are willing…”

“Don’t underestimate my mama, Keith.” Then he laughed. “Nana would probably say that if I think I’m old enough to go to space, then I’m old enough to plan my own wedding.” 

“Unless you mean to become an official consort, it could be a fairly small and private ceremony,” Lotor said. “And  Keith and I have done this before. We’d help you.”

“Well, I hope so! I’m getting space-married to you both, and if you don’t help me with the wedding, I’m  _ not _ putting out on the honeymoon!” 

Lotor glanced at Keith, who said, “He means he won’t have sex with us on the honeymoon if we don’t help with the wedding planning.”

“I guess we’d just have to have sex with each other,” Lotor teased. 

“Mm, good point. But of course we’re gonna help you with the wedding, Lance. Someone has to make sure you don’t do something ridiculous for the reception.”

“Excuse you, having a life-sized chocolate fountain is  _ not _ ridiculous.” Lance crossed his arms and pouted. 

“It is if you intend to go swimming in it!”

“It’s been a lifelong dream of mine!” Lance huffed and crossed his arms, before turning to Lotor. “Is there a difference between being an official consort and just...being married to you guys?”

Lotor blinked. “Well, of course. A consort has duties and responsibilities outside of the marriage itself. Political, mostly. You’d be...on display, as much as Keith or I am. But you’d also have a great deal of power, practically unprecedented for a non-Galra within the Empire. If you chose not to accept the role, then the only obligations you’d have would be to Keith and I, as our husband and nothing more.”

“That...makes sense.” 

“It’s up to you to decide which you’d prefer,” Lotor continued, “and you can change your mind later. I will support you either way.”

“So will I,” Keith said. “I just… I didn’t think you’d want the politics, too, given how much you complain about your involvement with politics now.” 

“It’s not like I chose to involve myself with the Coalition. But apparently, since I’m the Black Paladin now…” Lance threw his hands up. 

“Maybe it’s better that you don’t want it,” Keith said. “I mean, you’re doing your duty, but you’re not, like, going power-mad or anything.” 

“The universe could not handle another power-mad tyrant at this point,” Lotor said quietly. 

“I could go crazy at any point, if I wanted to!” Lance said.

“Mm...no, I don’t think so,” Keith said. He kissed Lance on the cheek. “So, will you marry us or not?”

“Of course I will. Just… I’m pretty busy with everything else, so I don’t think it’s a good idea to be your consort right now. But if I change my mind, I’ll let you know.”

“Sounds good.” Keith kissed Lance again, this time on the mouth, slow and sweet. 

And then Lance was crawling into Lotor’s lap, cupping his jaw and tilting his face down so they could kiss.

Lotor had never expected to be married, much less to two such wonderful people, and it was almost too good to be true, but he desperately hoped it was. 


	13. I’m Pretty Sure This Is Not What People Mean When They Say They Want A Big Family

**_ _ ** _ _

As nice as it would have been to lounge around with Keith and Lotor until they reached Keith’s mystery location, it just wasn’t realistic. Lance might be on a sort-of vacation, in that as long as the Black Lion wasn’t needed, he didn’t have any duties.

Keith and Lotor were not remotely on a vacation of any kind. Even clearing the schedule for one day had sort of messed things up, a little. Not badly, because Lotor wouldn’t have allowed that, but it meant they did have to work extra-hard today. 

Lance looked at the ring he now wore. Apparently one of Keith’s secret talents was ring-sizing, because it fit perfectly.

Lance had no idea what he was gonna tell his mama. Sure, she’d always wanted him to have a big family, but he didn’t think she meant like this. 

He had the feeling she’d hoped he’d settle down with a nice Cuban girl and they’d live down the street from her with their eight children. 

Marrying two space emperors and potentially living halfway across the universe was something else entirely. 

He didn’t have to marry them; he knew that. The ring was more a symbol of personal commitment, not a binding promise the way it would have been on Earth. They were willing to accommodate him and his needs, and if he hadn’t been willing to settle down just yet? Then they wouldn’t have pushed him. 

He was ready. Young for it, maybe, but then his older brother had been married with two kids by the time he was Lance’s age. 

It wasn’t boredom, exactly, that drove him to the bridge. 

The bridge was where the action was, and he liked being in the middle of things. It was interesting and exciting. One of the reasons he’d wanted to be a fighter pilot.

Keith was speaking to someone on the projected screen. He looked...stern, almost, older, in a way he wasn’t when he was just Keith, not Emperor Keith. 

Lance wasn’t going to lie; it was pretty sexy. He understood why Lotor sometimes called Keith “my emperor” in bed.

Lotor was studying some displays and also listening to an officer rattle off information of some kind.

Technically speaking, Lance probably shouldn’t have been here; he could just as easily have been a spy, for Earth or the Coalition, sent here to ferret out state secrets from the Galra Empire. 

He wasn’t, and he had no intention of even learning state secrets. One of the other reasons he couldn’t be consort yet; he couldn’t put himself in a situation where he’d have to choose between Earth, the Coalition, and everything he’d fought for for the past six years, or the men he loved. 

He desperately hoped it would never come to that, but you could never be too careful. Intergalactic politics were a bitch. 

The officer left, and Lotor studied the displays even more intently. 

Lance came up behind him and put his arms around him. In hindsight, it was probably not one of Lance’s best ideas; you really shouldn’t sneak up on people as flinchy as Lotor was. 

Lotor froze completely, not even breathing. His claws had unsheathed, on reflex, and Lance could tell it took a monumental effort to for him to retract them again. 

“Lance,” Lotor said, as neutrally as he could, but Lance could hear minute tremors in his voice. 

Lance snapped out of his reverie and stepped back. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I didn’t think- Well. I didn’t think.” 

“Happens to the best of us,” Lotor said. “What brings you to the bridge today?”

Lance shrugged. “I like knowing what’s going on.”

“Not much right now, I’m afraid, though Keith is speaking to one of the commanders in charge of the effort to root out piracy in this part of the galaxy.”

“There are space pirates?”

“Of course. The war was unkind to many; some turned to piracy in order to survive. Others were greedy. Either way, it must be stopped, and right now, the Empire is the only force large enough to effectively do that.”

“Voltron could...“

“Voltron is five people, Lance. I understand what you mean, but you can’t be everywhere at once. A large enough fleet can.”

“Yes, but what about people who are worried about continued Galra Control of the universe? I mean, the universe is not your responsibility, and people might think you’re trying to use your anti-piracy fleets as a way of intimidating people into doing what you want, like a sort of de-facto occupation.”

Lotor grinned. “And I thought you said you didn’t like politics. You are, of course, right, which is why the fleets currently only patrol within Galra-controlled sectors and along common trade routes. We’re due to speak with the Coalition about this soon. If the pirates know where the fleets are, they’ll simply attack elsewhere. Places we can’t defend. And that would impact trade, refugee resettlement, any number of other things.”

“Huh,” Lance said. “Why didn’t I know about this before?”

“Well, you did just spend...nine months on Earth? And Earth has limited interstellar capabilities. It wouldn’t have affected Earth.”

“Yeah, that’s true, I guess. I mean, Earth just found out about life on other worlds for sure four years ago. We knew it was out there, but we kind of figured it would be, like, bacteria.”

“There are a large number of alien bacteria out here,” Lotor said, grinning wryly. 

“Well, yeah, but I mean… When we went to space, we didn’t exactly think we were gonna get embroiled in a war that wasn’t even ours in the first place.”

“I have been reading a great deal about humans,” Lotor said, “and it strikes me that humans are more than willing to get involved in wars, something that I had once thought was uniquely Galra in nature.”

Lance frowned. “That’s a...harsh reading of humanity.” 

“An accurate one, I think. That being said, the only humans I have met have been Paladins of Voltron and so forth, and outside of battle, none of you strike me as particularly bellicose. Perhaps it is the effect of large groups of people.”

“Probably,” Lance agreed. “Mob psychology and all that.” He remembered something suddenly. “ _ Shit _ .”

Lotor raised an eyebrow.

“I had a reason for coming here, you know, to the ship, I mean, besides visiting Keith.”

“Did you?”

“Yeah, I had- Well, basically, they use me as sort of an intergalactic postal service sometimes? And the rest of Voltron, too, since Earth’s interstellar capabilities are pretty so-so. Anyway, Earth sent me with stuff to give you, in your official capacity as the Emperors of the Galra Empire.”

“Lance, darling, how long have you been here?” 

It took Lance a moment to respond, because his brain short-circuited a little at Lotor calling him  _ darling _ , but finally he remembered that Lotor had asked a question. “I got sidetracked.”

“Evidently. What sort of ‘stuff’ did they send?”

“I actually have no idea. Paperwork and stuff, I guess? But it had like, ‘for your eyes only’ stuff on it, so I didn’t read it.”

“Paperwork. Lovely. I can’t remember the last time I used real paper for something. Hopefully there was nothing time-sensitive in there.” 

“You can always pin the blame on me. It was kind of my fault.”

“It won’t come to that. Now, why don’t you go retrieve whatever it is that they sent with you, and Keith and I will meet you in the Suite as soon as his call is over?”

“Ugh, I have to work on my vacation.”

“Emperors don’t get vacations, Lance.”

“It’s a good thing I like you guys, because otherwise I’m not sure I’d put up with these work hours.”

“We’ll make it worth your while.”

Lance leaned up on his tiptoes and pressed a kiss to Lotor’s cheek. “You better.”

* * *

In the Suite, there was a room that functioned, as far as Lance could tell, as a sort of study. It didn’t look like the mental pictures of studies Lance had, but well, you couldn’t expect space emperors to have the same aesthetic vision as early twentieth century authors who lived primarily on their large-but-dwindling inheritances. 

The study, like the rest of the Suite, had very few personal touches, and in a way, that made Lance sad. They’d been living here for four years, and neither Keith nor Lotor had really bothered to personalize the space. 

Well, except for the sword on the wall, which Lance recognized as the one they’d pulled out of Lotor’s chest. 

If they ever ended up living together permanently, Lance was going to hire a decorator, because this was ridiculous. 

You know what? Lance was going to hire a decorator anyway. This was sad. 

Keith finished rifling through the papers and handed them off to Lotor. “They didn’t tell you about this?”

“...No? I’m not even sure what ‘this’ is.”

“They want to have the next Coalition meeting on Earth.”

“Oh! Wow. That’s a big step. I mean, Earth was discussing the possibility of joining the Coalition, but I hadn’t realized they’d finalized things already.” 

“They’ve invited ‘representatives from the Galra Empire’.” 

“So...That’s...big news. Opening diplomatic lines between the Empire and Earth, for the first time.”

“Lance, darling,” Lotor cut in, “Keith and I are the representatives of the Empire. One or both of us are going.”

“Oh my god, you’re going to Earth.” 

Keith and Lotor just waited. 

“Oh my god! My mama is gonna want to meet you!” 

“I’m not sure which I should be more afraid of,” Keith said to Lotor. “The Coalition meeting or Lance’s mother.”

“My rule is: when in doubt, it’s always the mother,” Lotor replied. 


	14. Lotor Is A Huge Nerd

It was the next day when the ship reached its destination.

It was the same place Keith had been while he had been away on business. That was...technically correct, but he’d also taken some time to put something special together. 

Well, actually, it had been in the works for over a year, since the war ended, but Keith was good at keeping secrets when he had to be. 

“This is…” Lotor began, staring out of the windows of the little pod Keith was piloting down to the surface. He sounded a little in awe, and that was hard to do. It made Keith warm inside. 

“Daikiraan,” Keith said, “the new capital of the Galra Empire.”

Lotor ripped his eyes away from the scenery, and he was wearing the softest and most shocked expression Keith had ever seen on him. 

“I feel like I’m definitely missing something here,” Lance said. “Is there something special about… Daikiraan?” 

Lotor schooled his expression and went directly into University Lecturer Mode. “Daikiraan was once the largest moon of Daibazaal. It had a small colony, but was ultimately rendered uninhabitable by the destruction of Daibazaal. Only in the last few centuries has it been safe to spend any amount of time on the surface. It was the scientists and archeologists who came first, in order to study what is now a new planet, and to unearth the lost colony, which was not evacuated by Alfor. Whether it was a miscalculation or an oversight, no one knows, but the end result was the same: every living being in that colony died, probably instantaneously.”

“Oh,” Lance said.

Keith had known all that, from his quest to find a suitable planet for the Galra capital. An Empire at peace should not have its Emperors living on warships. 

“It’s beautiful,” Lance continued. 

“The rings are formed of the debris from Daibazaal,” Lotor said. “Is that why you chose this planet?”

“We can build on the ashes of the old Empire,” Keith said. “We can do better.”

“This is one of the few places I’ve never been,” Lotor said. “I never imagined it would be this beautiful.”

It  _ was _ beautiful: the sole city below was built near the ocean, which stretched past the horizon, the water crystal clear. The sun was setting, and the stars were becoming visible. The rings were breathtaking.

Once, Keith thought the closest he’d ever experience to this moment would be looking at an image of Saturn, or maybe peering through a telescope. 

Keith landed the pod near the outskirts of the city. “This was not the surprise,” he said. 

Over the last year, construction crews had been working on a building that would become the seat of government for the Empire.

The palace they had built was more than worthy of it, in Keith’s estimation. 

“This is our new home,” he said quietly, gesturing to the palace. 

It was set on a cliff above the city, and Keith happened to know that there was an easy path down to the beach. The palace glittered in the setting sun, a jewel rising out of the sea.

Lotor crossed his arms. “It seems to have an almost...Altean influence.”

Keith shrugged. “I had Coran help me with some of the preliminary designs? He should have been an architect, honestly. Anyway, the palace is finished, so we can go in whenever you-“

He was cut off by Lotor’s mouth, which was suddenly pressed against his. He returned the kiss just as enthusiastically. 

“It’s beautiful,” Lotor said, when he pulled away. “I’m...impressed and...in awe of you.”

From anyone else, that would have been a standing ovation.

“Is that a beach?” Lance asked.

“Yes, and the water is safe to swim in,” Keith said. “I checked.” Space was weird; sometimes what looked like perfectly nice water was, in fact, acid. 

“Well, you guys know where I’ll be tomorrow. In the meantime, let’s get this palace broken in.”

“Do you know how long it would take to have sex in every room of this palace?” Keith asked. “Your dick would fall off first.” 

“That’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make,” Lance said dramatically. “But fine. At least show us where the bedroom is.”

“The day is just starting here,” Lotor said. “Planetside, Galra are primarily nocturnal.”

“Are you saying we can’t just spend all day- night? -in bed?”

“You can, but some of us are emperors of intergalactic empires.”

“This vacation policy sucks.”

Lotor kissed him. “We’ll make it up to you.”

Lance pouted. “Fine.” 

Keith laughed, and pulled them both up the path to the palace. 

* * *

“You know,” Lance said, “if we got married before I went back to Earth, you guys wouldn’t have to put up with my mama’s wedding craziness.”

“It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make,” Lotor said.

“I’m not,” Lance said. “She’s not gonna be too happy about it either way, but if we’re already married, there’s nothing she can do.”

“Any parent would be overjoyed that their child brought Keith home,” Lotor said. “He’s basically perfect in every way.”

Keith snorted. “Yeah, right. You’re just saying that.”

“It’s absolutely true, beloved,” Lotor said, “although I will concede that I might be slightly biased.”

“ _ Slightly _ ?”

“ _ Might be _ ?” Lance asked, just as incredulously. “But yeah, my Good Catholic Mother is going to be super thrilled that I’m destroying the sanctity of marriage by marrying not one, but two men who are also both aliens.”

“Humans are all alien to me,” Lotor sniffed. 

“What do aliens have to do with Catholicism?” 

“Nothing. I just think she won’t be happy about this.” 

“If we all lived lives in order to please our mothers…” Lotor said. 

“My point was that we should get married before I go back to Earth. Make it official, and then maybe have the reception later for family and friends.”

“Will any Earth government recognize the wedding as official?” Keith asked.

“As long as it’s performed legally, I don’t see why not.”  

“Perhaps tomorrow evening, then, as long as we managed to find a few witnesses and someone to officiate,” Lotor said. “It would give us a few days to enjoy being newlyweds before you have to leave.”

“And, if we’re married, they can’t keep me away from you guys for too long! So I could see you guys more than once or twice a year.”

“I like the sound of that,” Keith said. Having just Lotor around was really good, but having both he and Lance around was...perfect. His heart had never been fuller of love. 

He leaned over and kissed Lance. Words were hard, but actions were so incredibly easy sometimes. 


	15. Luckiest Guys In the Universe

Lance would have to be honest if anyone asked: he literally did not remember most of the wedding itself. It passed in a sort-of blur. 

It wasn’t for lack of trying to remember, either; Lance wanted to have those memories for the rest of his life. (Fortunately, Lotor had the foresight to have a few camera drones record it.)

It was that he was too nervous and excited to actually focus on anything other than Lotor and Keith. Not even the brilliant sunrise over the beach could keep his attention. 

When they got back to their rooms -Spartan in a sort of luxurious way; Galra interior designers had very...militant tastes -both Keith and Lotor broke out into wide grins.

Lance, who had been grinning like a fool the entire time, only grinned wider, slightly giddy. Nothing had really changed; they had been in love before, they had been dedicated to each other before, but it felt...different. 

“Wow,” he breathed. “I can’t believe I married two of the hottest guys ever. I must be the luckiest person in the universe.”

Lotor snorted. “As if that honor did not go to me.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Keith huffed, in a fondly exasperated way. He picked Lance up, like it was nothing, and that really did something for Lance. “It’s clearly me.”

”Let’s not argue about who’s luckier than who,” Lance said. (It was him.) “It’s our wedding night, and  _ someone _ couldn’t make time for a real honeymoon.”

“You were warned,” Keith said. “We don’t get vacations.” 

“Next you’re gonna tell me there’s no dental.”

Keith dropped him on the bed, which, fair. “I’m sure you could find something more entertaining than being a smartass on our wedding night.”

“I have a few ideas,” Lance said, watching very interestedly as Keith climbed on top of him, settling so he was right over Lance’s hips. 

“I bet you do,” Keith said. Lance tried to sit up in order to kiss Keith like he very much wanted to, but Keith held him down easily with one hand splayed across his chest.

_ Fuck _ , that should not be so hot. 

“You gonna tell me those ideas, Sharpshooter?” Keith asked smugly. 

“Wanna…” Lance swallowed, hard. “Wanna suck you off.” 

Keith’s eyes darkened. “Yeah?”

Lance nodded. Keith used his free hand to stroke Lance’s hair, and Lance turned into the touch. He loved how intense Keith could be. Gentle, yes, but always incredibly intense.

“How much?” Keith asked.

“So bad,” Lance whined. “Please?” 

Keith pretended to consider for a long moment. “I suppose,” he said, as if Lance couldn’t  _ feel _ how excited Keith was by the idea. “If you do a good job, maybe I’ll let you fuck Lotor after.”

“ _ Yes _ ,” Lotor hissed. He’d been leaning against the wall, watching, but now he crossed the room in a few quick strides. “I like the way you think, beloved,” he said, settling next to Lance’s hip, so he could easily reach Keith and kiss him.

Keith got really into the kiss, which Lance was fine with, but… “Guys, as hot as that is, if you keep doing that, there’s no way I’m gonna be physically able to fuck  _ anyone _ tonight.” 

“No?” Lotor asked, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. “I’m sure we could convince you otherwise.”

“I’m not a teenager anymore. I can’t just get it up whenever.” Lance tried pushing himself up on his elbows again, but this time Lotor’s hand stopped him. 

“A shame, really. We could have so much fun…” Still, Lotor lifted Keith off of Lance and arranged them so that Keith was in settled in between Lotor’s legs at the edge of the bed. 

Lance knelt between Keith’s legs, which Lotor helpfully spread a little wider. He looked up at both of his husbands (!!!!!). Keith nodded. 

One of Lotor’s arms was around Keith’s waist, keeping him still; the other skillfully undid the catches on Keith’s pants (like Lotor had done this before, and he probably had). 

Lance kissed the strip of exposed skin just below Keith’s belly button, and then pulled Keith’s pants down just enough to get his dick out. 

According to Keith, it had also grown somewhat during his last growth spurt; Lance wasn’t about to admit that he maybe kind of sort of had a size kink, but he certainly wasn’t complaining about what Keith or Lotor were packing. 

Keith’s hands were already in his hair, pulling him right where Keith wanted. 

“Impatient,” Lance huffed. “Is he always like this?”

“Absolutely,” Lotor said. His arm around Keith’s waist prevented him from bucking into Lance’s mouth, something Lance was pretty grateful for. 

He licked a stripe up the underside of Keith’s dick, before taking the tip into his mouth.

Keith was already starting to make those delightful sounds Lance so rarely got to hear; Keith wasn’t usually very vocal during sex. But like this… Every moan, every hitch of his breath went right to Lance’s dick. 

Lance built the speed up, gradually taking more and more of Keith’s dick into his mouth with each thrust.

At some point, one of Keith’s hands left his hair to grip Lotor’s thigh instead, like he needed something to hold onto.

Of course he did; Lance was rocking his world. 

Lance was able to look up and see the way Keith’s head was thrown back against Lotor’s shoulder, his eyes clenched shut, his mouth open.  _ God _ , he was beautiful. 

Lotor had taken advantage of Keith’s exposed neck, biting and kissing and licking the soft skin there. 

It was only when Keith whined and tugged his hair that Lance realized he’d been so enthralled by the scene above him that he’d stopped. He picked up his rhythm again, taking Keith’s dick as far down as he could, and using one hand to stroke the rest.

Lotor used his free hand to stroke Lance’s hair, and he was watching over Keith’s shoulder, seemingly enraptured. He was so open, when it was just the three of them, and Lance loved it, loved that Lotor trusted him-

“Lance, I-“ Keith managed.

Lance swallowed as Keith came, continuing to stroke his dick through the aftershocks.

Finally, Lance pulled off and licked his lips. Lotor’s eyes widened, just a little, and Lance smirked. “They don’t call me Loverboy Lance for nothing,” he said.

Apparently, Keith’s orgasm had been so good that he didn’t have a snarky comeback for that, and Lance mentally high-fived himself. 

Lance stood and tilted Keith’s face upwards, cupping his chin gently, in order to kiss him properly. As soon as he let Keith pull away, Lotor’s lips were on his, his tongue swiping into Lance’s mouth, as if to taste Keith on Lance’s tongue. 

He finally allowed Lance to breathe, and when Lance more-or-less caught his breath, he looked down at Keith. “Well? Was that good enough for you?”

Keith lazily cracked one eye open. “Hm? Oh, yeah...that was...adequate…”

“ _ Adequate _ ?” Lance asked, offended. Here Keith was, looking like his brains had been sucked out through his dick, and he had the nerve to suggest that Lance had done a merely  _ adequate _ job? 

“More than adequate,” Keith amended. “Help me stand up.”

It was a good thing Lance loved him, because otherwise, he would not have put up with this. Still, he pulled Keith to his feet, and it was probably a good thing Lance was helping him, because his knees buckled almost immediately.

“I’d say you did a more than adequate job,” Lotor said drily, reaching out to help support Keith. “Though I’d have to evaluate your skills for myself in order to be sure.”

Lance winked; he’d be more than happy to get his mouth on any part of Lotor, especially his dick. Some other time, though. 

Between the three of them, they got Keith undressed and settled into the pile of pillows at the head of the bed.

Lance went ahead and grabbed the lube from the bedside table. “So...how do you want to…?”

Lotor stood and stretched, and it was a good thing he was hot, because the sounds his joints made were horrific. “Hm...Any ideas, Keith?”

“As long as I get to watch, I’m good,” Keith said. 

“Helpful,” Lance said, but he didn’t complain anymore, because Lotor’s hands were working to take off his clothes slowly,  _ teasingly _ , and that was absolutely maddening. Yeah, sure, Lotor pressed kisses to each bit of exposed skin as he worked, but Lance was already raring to go after blowing Keith. He didn’t need to be teased. 

Lotor’s smirk told Lance that he knew exactly what he was doing, though, which meant Lance was just going to have to pay him back somehow. 

Finally, all of Lance’s clothes were in a puddle around his feet. He was not terribly self-conscious -he was quite fit and aware of that fact -but having Lotor look down at him like Lance was prey… That was something else entirely. 

“Undress me,” Lotor prompted, breaking Lance out of his increasingly erotic and distracting thoughts.

Lance swallowed and nodded. “Right. Of course.” Once you knew where the catches were, Galra clothing was surprisingly easy to remove, and soon Lotor was also undressed. 

Lotor kissed Lance’s cheek, then seemed to consider something for a moment before stretching out, face-down on the bed. “I hope this is alright?”

“Hell yeah it is.” Lotor’s ass was...fantastic. 

Keith laughed. “You’re so predictable, Lance.”

“It’s not my fault Lotor has such a nice ass!” Lance sat on the back of Lotor’s thighs. “Seriously, of the three of us, I’m pretty sure his is the nicest.”

“You say the most romantic things, darling,” Lotor said.

Lance flushed, because he was still not used to Lotor calling him ‘darling’. He’d probably never be used to it, but he loved it. He pressed a kiss between Lotor’s shoulder blades. 

Lotor made a pleased sound, deep in his chest. Lance had never seen him quite this relaxed, except for that one time in the huge bathtub (seriously, it was practically Olympic-sized), but it was good to see him like this. Being an intergalactic emperor had to be stressful, never mind all the baggage he had from his shitty upbringing. The scars from it were right there. 

Lotor clearly wasn’t thinking about that right now, which was a good thing as far as Lance was concerned. With his head pillowed in his arms, Lotor looked more like he was getting ready for a massage. Like he was willing to let Lance do all the work, because he trusted Lance, and he trusted in his ability to please him. 

It meant a lot to Lance. He pressed another kiss to the back of Lotor’s neck, then reached for the lube. 

He rearranged himself so that he was between Lotor’s thighs and began preparing him. 

He did not tease, exactly, but he made sure to draw out every bit of pleasure he could, partially because he loved hearing all the soft, pleased noises Lotor made, but mostly because he wanted to treat Lotor  _ right _ . He deserved that much, at least.

Lotor basically melted into the bed, unable to get a coherent word out, his thighs trembling and his face pressed up against Keith’s thigh.

Keith stroked his hair. “He’s ready,” he said quietly, to Lance. 

Lotor made an affirmative noise in the back of his throat, but it came out sort of like a whine. 

Lance had reached the same conclusion, so he pulled his fingers free and, after slicking his dick up, pressed himself slowly inside Lotor’s entrance. 

Lance paused once he was all the way inside to catch his breath. The angle wasn’t great, but it didn’t really matter; it was still good, just because this was his  _ husband _ . One of them, anyway, and that was...incredible. 

“I love you,” Lance said quietly.

Lotor’s breath hitched; Lance was pretty sure he was beyond words at this point, but Keith wasn’t. 

“I love you, too.” He said it with such an adoring expression that Lance couldn’t quite believe that this was his life. 

Lance started moving, finally, deep and firm, but not rough. Lotor melted even further, and unless Lance was mistaken, he’d starting purring, so content and at ease that maybe he couldn’t help himself. 

It was so gratifying that Lance could do this for Lotor, that Lotor allowed him to do this. 

Reaching his climax was not sudden this time, nor was it violent, nor unexpected… It was inevitable, a slow build, finally cresting. 

Lotor needed a little more, so Lance pulled out and got one arm underneath Lotor’s hips, in order to stroke his dick. He sprawled over Lotor’s back, so he could nip at his neck, the way he liked. 

“You’re gorgeous,” Keith said, still stroking Lotor’s hair. “So beautiful, so strong...I love you so goddamn much…”

That was all it took; Lotor came with a soft, surprised sound, quaking underneath Lance, his eyes screwed shut.

Lance rolled off him, finally, grateful that Keith had already gotten a damp washcloth; his legs were definitely not going to work correctly. 

Keith cleaned Lotor up, then Lance. Then he frowned down at his lap. 

“God, sometimes this sucks,” he muttered. 

Lotor made a questioning noise. 

“It’s fine. I’ll take care of it myself. You both are tired,” Keith began.

Lotor rolled himself onto his side and reached across to Keith’s dick, which, presumably by the miracle that was Galra reproductive biology, was hard again. “Let me,” he breathed, and Keith swallowed, then nodded. 

It only took a few strokes to finish Keith off, and Lance could only watch as Lotor then proceeded to lick his fingers clean. If Lance were five years younger, he would have been ready for Round 2. 

Alas…

“You’re doing that on purpose,” Keith said.

“Maybe,” Lotor admitted. He collapsed back into the bed, pulling Lance and Keith with him. “But if I can’t do it to my husbands, then who?”

“Compelling argument,” Keith said, kissing Lotor on the cheek. 

Lotor actually, definitely, was purring this time. Not continuously, like a cat -he could only manage it on the exhale -but it was still adorable and soothing.

“Kind of bold of you to make fun of my praise kink,” Lance said finally. “Considering.”

“It’s not like you didn’t enjoy it. Besides, I didn’t make fun of you or your praise kink,” Lotor said, cracking one eye open. 

“Yeah, well, all's fair in love and war, and if you think I won’t exploit your praise kink in every way imaginable, then you’ve got another thing coming, Mister.”

“ _ Please _ do,” Lotor said, in that stupidly sexy voice of his. He paused and adopted a more serious tone. “I’m glad I found you both, and I’m glad it was you I married. I can’t imagine being this happy with anyone else.” 


	16. A Small Request

The next several days passed far too quickly for Lotor’s taste. He had wanted to bask in the joy of being a newlywed again for as long as possible. After all, he didn’t think he’d ever felt quite this content before. 

At least the war was over, and no pirates were likely to attack the Black Lion -perhaps only the most foolish and the most desperate, and they would make for short work -so Lance’s trip back to Earth would most likely be perfectly safe. As safe as space travel ever was. 

He spent as much time with Keith and Lance as he possibly could before Lance’s departure, but it wasn’t really enough. 

It probably never would be, he realized. The idea that he might miss someone while they were gone was still a novel one, one that scared him quite a bit.

But they would see Lance in a month and a half, when the Coalition met on Earth, and they had discussed -if not come to an agreement on -Lance’s future living arrangements. 

But he was young, and this was new; there was time to figure it all out. 

* * *

“Lotor?”

“Hm?” Lotor replied, trying to finish skimming through a report, but also wanting to give Keith at least some of his attention.

“Can I talk to you about something?”

That was probably a little more serious; Lotor set his tablet aside. “Of course. Always.”

Keith let out a breath. “I’ve been thinking about something, for a while now, and I...wanted to know what you thought about it.”

This intrigued Lotor, and also reminded him of the conversation he’d had with Keith shortly before Keith started seeing Lance. “Which paladin is it this time?” 

“What? No! Nothing everything is about sex, you know.”

Lotor scoffed. “That is literally the purpose of life, Keith. We’re only meant to live long enough to pass on our genes.” 

“If you want to be that reductive about it, sure. That’s technically accurate. The point is, the thing I wanted to talk to you about has nothing to do with any other paladins I may or may not have feelings for, which, for the record, I don’t. Have feelings for anyone else, I mean.”

“Alright,” Lotor said. “Then what did you want to talk about?”

Keith didn’t say anything for a long time, but Lotor just waited. Keith would get there in his own time. 

He wouldn’t look at Lotor when he finally did speak. “I want to adopt a child,” he said, so softly Lotor could barely hear him. 

It was not what Lotor had been expecting, and it took him a moment to formulate a response. “Can I ask why?” 

Keith nodded, still not looking at Lotor. “I, uh… When my dad died, I didn’t have anyone else to care about me. Not until Shiro came along, anyway, and I spent several years by myself, going from foster home to group home and back, and I just- I don’t want any other child to feel that way.”

It wasn’t that Lotor had forgotten about that aspect of Keith; it just rarely came up. But Keith did have a compassionate soul, so giving and caring…

Lotor had his own set of parently woes, though, and that meant he had reservations about raising a child. 

“Do you think that we’d be good parents?” Lotor asked softly. 

“I’d like to think so. We’re not… We are not our parents, and we can do better. There’s nothing either of us can do about our own childhoods, but we could make someone else’s better than it would be otherwise.”

It all made sense. It made so much sense, given everything. And yet Lotor was...scared. He certainly hadn’t turned into his father  _ yet _ , but…

“Did you talk to Lance about this?” Lotor asked, deflecting, just slightly. An old and hard-to-break habit, one he couldn’t quite shake, even with Keith. 

“Yeah, just before he left. He said he’d be happy either way, but that he had always wanted a big family. Which I am not surprised about, because he has like, five siblings and God knows how many cousins, and most of them have kids, so he’s always kind of been around kids? And I guess he’s pretty good with them.”

That was the direct opposite of Lotor’s experience. He’d never been around children, not even as a child himself. He certainly could have had children by now, if he’d wanted to -he was ten thousand years old -but he hadn’t, for a myriad of reasons. 

It had been centuries, probably, since the last time he’d thought about it seriously. “Will you let me think about it?” Lotor asked.

“Of course,” Keith said, leaning over to kiss Lotor on the cheek. “Take as much time as you need.” 


	17. Political Chicanery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You’ll pry Arizonan!Keith from my cold, dead hands

Lance did his best not to fidget, but it was hard. Today was the day! And he’d waited almost two months for this! 

But he was with the rest of the Coalition's delegation, here in his official capacity as Black Paladin and not as the husband of the Galra Emperors. So. He could do professionalism, when he needed to. 

Still, all his attention was riveted on the small speck, still far away, that streaked closer to Earth. 

He doubted that Keith was flying; somewhere along the way, Lotor had managed to impress the importance of decorum upon Keith, which must have been a Herculean effort on his part. But diplomacy was mostly appearances. So.

The shuttle set down, finally; it was much sleeker than its Altean counterparts, and Lance very much would have liked to fly it himself. 

The ramp came down, and then there they were! Majestic as fuck, of course, regal and imperial and everything space emperors should be, but also  _ his _ . 

Allura took a step forward. “On behalf of the Intergalactic Coalition, it is my honor to welcome you to Earth, Your Majesties.”

“We are honored to be here, Princess,” Lotor replied. He scanned the small crowd that had gathered for this historic event, and he smiled, just slightly, when he caught Lance’s eye. “We hope that we can work together with this Coalition in order to better not just our Empire, but the known universe as a whole.”

* * *

The summit, meeting, whatever you wanted to call it, took place somewhere in the middle of the Arizona desert, not far from Galaxy Garrison. The vast emptiness made it easy to find parking for all sorts of space-faring vessels, Lance supposed. 

The Castle of Lions was there, of course, but the meeting itself would take place in a newly constructed building, rising out of the desert, nearly tall enough to touch the sky, it seemed.

The air conditioning bill would be outrageous. 

Lance didn’t see why the meeting couldn’t have taken place somewhere where the climate was actually hospitable, but whatever. He wasn’t in charge of those decisions. 

The Coalition building had to be as large as it was, because in addition to holding the meetings, it also doubled as a sort of hotel for the delegates. 

Which made sense because, again, it was in the middle of nowhere. There was probably nothing for a hundred miles in any direction. Except cactus, of course. 

And of course, the meeting had to take place in the middle of summer. 

Apparently, Galra were not adapted for 115 degree weather. 

Keith and Lotor had brought other Galra with them, and, as far as Lance could tell, they were all wishing they had declined the offer. Even the guards on duty outside Keith and Lotor’s room were kind of wilty. Like they were literally about to melt into the floor. 

They knew who Lance was, and let him in without any fuss. 

Keith was sitting on the bed, reading something on a tablet, probably in relation to tomorrow’s meeting. 

Lance almost tripped over Lotor, who was lying on the floor, sprawled out, with a damp washcloth over most of his face. 

“Is it always so hot here?” Lotor complained.

“It’s a dry heat,” Keith said automatically, without looking up.

“It’s the middle of summer,” Lance said apologetically. 

“I guess humans will just live in any climate at all, won’t they? Who cares if they weren’t adapted for it?” Lotor continued, exasperated.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Lance said. “Humans don’t give a shit.” He sat down next to Keith. “I missed you guys.”

“Missed you too,” Keith said, finally looking up to give Lance a kiss on the cheek. “Don’t mind him. He’s just being dramatic.”

“I am not!” Lotor said, from the floor. “The climate controls are impossible.”

Keith rolled his eyes fondly. “Lance, I am sure that if you can figure out how to make it ten degrees cooler in here, Lotor would be more than willing to do  _ anything _ for you.”

Lance was already on his feet and walking over to the wall panel.

* * *

Half an hour and one very grateful blowjob later, Lance was curled up next to Keith as Keith continued to flip through documents.

Lotor was stretched out across the foot of the bed; he really was basically just a giant, purple cat. 

“I really did miss you guys,” Lance said. “Couldn’t stop thinking about you. It wasn’t even two months, but it hurt, just not being with you.” He sighed. “But I can’t just… pick up everything and move halfway across the universe. I have family here, and responsibilities, and…”

“I understand,” Keith said. He put his tablet down. “I really do. And you have to do what you feel is right. Lotor’s working on a few projects, but they may not be ready for some time, and in the meantime… Well. If we could stay here with you, we would, but it’s just not possible.”

“Sometimes,” Lotor said, “these things are difficult. But we made a commitment to you, and we will honor it. If nothing else, the three of us are in this together, until the end, no matter what.”

“Wow,” Lance said. “That was...intense.”

“Most Galra things are,” Keith said. 

* * *

“And now, to speak on behalf of the Galra Empire, Prince-Consort Lotor.”

Lance, seated up in the gallery, barely saw the ear twitch that meant Lotor was irritated. He doubted anyone other than Keith had noticed. 

Still, Lotor stood, his face betraying nothing of the irritation he might have felt at not being given the right title in a council as important as this. 

“On behalf of the Galra Empire, and as Emperor of the Galra Empire, I would like to extend our gratitude at being invited to speak at this summit. Intergalactic cooperation is something to strive for, and this meeting is the first step on the path forward.” 

Lance was impressed by how subtle that rebuke had been. But then, Lotor had been doing the politics thing for a long time, hadn’t he? Of course he was good at it; he had to be. 

“To that end, the Galra Empire is willing to pledge ten billion GAC and, additionally, match this Coalition’s contributions, for the purpose of ending intergalactic piracy. This scourge has lasted too long already, but with the cooperation of our allies, we will see it’s end within the year.”

A huge sum of money, even if Lance wasn’t sure what the conversion rate was right now. But then, the Galra Empire was still incredibly wealthy. 

“And I suppose you would want to spearhead the operation?” A Coalition representative asked. “Can we trust the Galra with such power ever again?”

Lotor inclined his head to acknowledge the comment. “You have every right to be wary of our intentions. It was not so long ago that my father ruled the known universe with an iron fist. Even before his time, the Galra were known to be a race of conquerors, with ambitions and aspirations. 

“If you are truly so concerned with the aspirations of this new, better Empire, then we will withdraw to our own territories, and focus our attentions on the betterment of our citizenry. Our projections have the Galra Empire completely self-sufficient within the next five years, and while isolationism was not our original intent, if it makes our allies here more  _ comfortable… _ ”

Lance was a little shocked by that. He glanced at Keith, who only nodded along with Lotor from his place at his side. 

_ What were they doing?  _

The chamber broke out into chaos, until the chairperson called a recess. 

Lance raced to meet Keith and Lotor. “What the hell are you guys doing?”

”Negotiating,” Keith replied coolly. 

“You planned this!” Lance accused. 

“Well, we had a suspicion certain members of the Coalition would be...disagreeable,” Lotor said, his lips quirked in the smallest of smiles. “At least no one’s armed.”

“What if they actually do want the Empire to isolate itself?”

“That won’t happen. The Coalition will meet privately, they will discuss this, realize they cannot completely wipe out the pirates without Galra aid, and then they will come begging at out feet as grudgingly as they can manage.” 

“You’re playing chicken with them!?”

“That’s all politics is,” Keith said. “The Coalition has a much weaker negotiating position that we do, so ultimately, they’ll have to accept our terms. Besides, they’ll probably appoint a Coalition liaison to oversee the operation, and if you play your cards right…”

”I could fight space pirates!” Lance realized. “It’s a dream come true.”

“I know,” Keith said fondly. 


	18. Sweetheart

The meeting was called back into session, and Lotor took his place next to Keith. He really did like having Keith right beside him. 

They had planned all this out ahead of time, as they usually did before negotiations of any sort, but it was still nice to be able to communicate silently with Keith in the midst of things. It was impossible to account for every single outcome, after all, no matter how much thought you put into something. 

And he could hold Keith’s hand under the table and no one would know. 

The situation was not as fraught as it could have been. The Galra Empire would survive isolation quite well, probably; the two dozen planets under Imperial control had small, but steadily growing, populations and large amounts of various natural resources. Seven of those planets were industrial centers, and a further eleven were agricultural producers. They’d prosper.

The rest of the universe might not; the war had been hard on many. 

Not all, of course; provisions had been made as planets elected to leave the Empire, in the name of revitalizing economies, instead of letting them crash. 

Coalition planets were different. For one thing, most were too proud to ask for help, and even if they had… By the time the war ended, they weren’t the Empire’s responsibility. They had wanted freedom, and Lotor understood -admired -that, but freedom meant that they would have to weather the hardships ahead of them, instead of continuing to blame the Empire for each and every problem. 

At some point, you just had to move on and do what needed to be done. 

Only, they hadn’t, and that’s why they were here. 

He was called on to speak again, and he let go of Keith’s hand and stood. “We have been working on this issue tirelessly since the end of the war. Our fleets are the only ones capable of handling this scale of operation. We have spent a total of fifty billion GAC on various Coalition-sponsored resettlement programs and revitalization projects. There is barely a piracy problem within Imperial territory, because we have the resources to guard our shipments and patrol trade routes. We are offering this support now in order to better not ourselves, but the known universe as a whole. 

“But it will not come without a cost, and that cost is that you must trust us.”

“Why should we?” 

Lotor did not quite catch the speaker, but he turned in their general direction. “Because you have no choice. Few Coalition planets are self-sufficient, and without intergalactic trade, the remainder will starve. And then you will blame that, too, on the Galra. 

“Trade enriches all of us. Galra, Olkarion, Taujeerian, Human… Refusing our offer of assistance will mean that pirates will run rampant over your civilizations. Do not let your justified hatred of my father continue to color your perceptions of what the Empire is  _ now _ .” 

* * *

Lotor was tired. He’d spent part of the afternoon, after the Empire’s representatives had been excused from the meeting, doing some in-depth examinations of various...technologies and bribing the Castle’s mice.

His mind had not been able to let go of the matter at hand, of course, and that was part of the reason he was unable to sleep, despite his exhaustion. 

At least the night air was cooler. 

Lance sidled up to him at the balcony. Lance’s footsteps weren’t as stealthy as Keith’s, making it easy for him to tell them apart without looking. 

“Couldn’t sleep?” Lance asked softly. Presumably to keep from waking Keith, but Lotor knew from experience that that would not be a problem. Those sleeping pills were potent. 

“Just thinking,” Lotor said.  There was an orange glow on the horizon; a wild fire of some type, perhaps. But it was far away. 

Lance leaned his head against Lotor’s arm. “Yeah?” A clear invitation to share whatever troubled him. 

Lotor wasn’t sure, exactly, what troubled him. Keith and he had planned for most contingencies regarding the meeting, including this one, and it was working perfectly so far. The schematics he’d drawn as a result of this afternoon’s adventure in the Castle weren’t terribly important; certainly not enough to keep him awake. And while the heat was annoying, he’d slept in far worse conditions. 

“I...don’t know,” he said finally. “It’s probably nothing.”

“I’m not sure I believe that,” Lance said. He ducked under Lotor’s arm, and Lotor obliged him by wrapping his arm around Lance’s waist. 

Lotor sighed. “I suppose… Keith mentioned he spoke to you, before you left Daikiraan. About adopting a child.”

“He did,” Lance said neutrally. 

“And I… I’ve never really been around children,” Lotor admitted. “I’m...afraid.”

“Everyone’s scared of screwing their kids up. The important thing, I guess, is just...being there. Putting the time in. Everything else can be learned.”

He knew it was too dark for Lance to really see much, and perhaps that was why he was able to ask the question he hadn’t quite managed to ask Keith. “Do you think I would be a good father?”

Lance was silent -Lotor imagined it was a startled silence, like it was something Lance hadn’t quite considered -for a long moment. “Oh,” he breathed finally. “Oh, Lotor.” He twisted a little, so he could look up at Lotor.

Lotor avoided his gaze. Selfishly, perhaps. But he was allowed this small indulgence. 

“Lotor, sweetheart, look at me?”

It was hard, but Lotor did, because he could rarely refuse any request Lance made in that soft, sweet tone. 

Lance reached up and cupped his face with both hands. “You are not, and you will never be, your father, ok? I know he hurt you, but he’s dead, and he’s been dead, and he can’t hurt you anymore. He will never hurt you again, and you will never become him, ok, because you  _ are not him _ .” 

“But what if-?”

“No, hush. It’s not going to happen.” Lance was quiet until Lotor finally nodded reluctantly. “Ultimately, it’s up to you. Keith said he’s been considering it for several years now, and I always knew I’d prefer to have kids, but we’re not going to force it on you if you don’t want to. It’s something we all have to commit to, together, and if your heart’s not in it, then it’s not fair to the kid or you.

“That being said, I think, personally, that you’d make a great father.  I mean, maybe you’ve never really been around kids, but you can learn to feed a baby and change diapers and all that. That’s not what makes a great father. You just...have to be there, yeah? And you’re always so attentive when it comes to me and Keith, always so considerate and warm to us? So I think you’d be really great with kids.”

Lotor pressed his cheek into Lance’s right hand. “I…don’t know what to say to that.”

“Just think about it. You don’t have to make a decision anytime soon. It’s kind of one of those things you probably shouldn’t rush into, you know?”

“Would you be…” Lotor searched for the right word. “Upset? Disappointed? If I decided against it?”

“Yeah, a little, probably,” Lance admitted. “But not at you, and I’d, you know, get over it. Volunteer with a youth program or something. But just because I might be upset, does not mean you have to agree to it. We’re married, now, so that means we’re in this together, for better or worse, remember? If we’re gonna do this, we need to be in agreement about it. I love you, and Keith loves you, and we’re gonna love you no matter how this turns out, ok? So you don’t need to worry about that.”

“I know,” Lotor said softly, then leaned down to kiss Lance. “Thank you for this. I appreciate it a great deal.”

“Yeah, well, what are husbands for?” Lance said with a grin. Then he yawned. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get up early tomorrow and it is way past my bedti-“

Lotor scooped him up in one smooth motion. “I suppose it’s time for me to go to bed as well.”

Lance laughed and wrapped an arm around Lotor’s shoulders. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.”


	19. It’s Good To Be Prepared

“And now the floor goes to Prince-Consort Lotor.”

Keith watched Lotor’s ear flick, just slightly; the summit was on its third day, and still they refused to give him his correct title. Even Keith was annoyed on behalf of Lotor, and he imagined that Lance was, too, from his place in the gallery. 

They had decided, him and Lotor, that Keith would be speaking today, so he squeezed Lotor’s hand before letting it go so he could stand up.

Since their first semi-disastrous negotiations on Ophus, they had turned diplomacy into a game they could and did win. It was exactly like strategizing for a battle, which, after all, was only a deadlier game. 

Lotor was a master of strategy, and Keith knew, instinctively, when and where and how to deliver the decisive strike. 

Which is what they hoped this would be. 

Keith was not a fan of public speaking. Not that he was afraid of it, exactly; he just...preferred not to be in the spotlight like that. Which was why he normally allowed Lotor to speak in his place. 

But he had gotten used to public speaking, and now, him taking the floor would throw the Coalition off-kilter. 

“I have spent all of my adult life fighting for peace, prosperity, and justice in the universe,” Keith began, “first as a Paladin of Voltron and then as Emperor of the Galra Empire. Without the help of my husband, I would not be here today, and I would hazard to say that none of you would be, either. Lest we forget, it was my husband, Emperor Lotor, who finally managed to kill the tyrant Zarkon after a ten-thousand-year-long reign of terror and brutality. 

“The universe will take more than four years to recover, and it will take far longer if we do not work together to end that which now threatens: the scourge of pirates who have taken advantage of this disunity for personal gains. We have offered our aid in this matter, though we had no obligation to, and for this, we have been greeted with suspicion and accusations of rebuilding that which we tore down.

“This Coalition has offered a solution: you will ask for our aid, but you will brand it as your own, command it as your own, claim it as your own. To which we say: you have made it clear that we are not welcome to join this Coalition. You have given us no seat at the table that we may use to ensure that the aid we have given you is used properly. We have asked, again and again, for the finance reports for the fifty billion GAC we have already given in aid, and you have denied us, again and again, with excuse after excuse. 

“We cannot, in good conscience, continue to use resources that may be better spent on our own people on an endeavor that has seen no measurable change. 

“We are willing to ally with this Coalition, but we will not be a vassal state, for you to take and demand and command as you see fit. We will meet at this table as equals, or not at all. 

“We prefer to keep the peace, but we know also that Coalition does not have the resources now to wage war. You do not have the money, nor the materiel, nor the trained soldiers. 

“The Empire will crush piracy within the universe with or without your help, and there is nothing you can do to stop us. We would prefer your help: appoint someone to act as oversight, on behalf of the Coalition; send recruits to train onboard our warships; educate and train your people so that they do not feel the need to turn to piracy. 

“But do not continue to blame the Empire, when we have done nothing but offer our assistance since I ascended to the Throne.” 

Keith sat back down and took a sip from his water glass. Lotor smiled; a tiny smile that no one else saw. 

Lotor had written most of the speech, though Keith had given a great deal of input, and Lotor thought it would be best coming from Keith. 

Keith had to agree. Lotor was usually right about these sorts of things. 

Lotor took his hand again under the table and leaned over to whisper in Keith’s ear. “That was spectacular, Beloved.” 

Keith flushed, just slightly. “Couldn’t have done it without you.” 

If they weren’t in public, Lotor probably would have kissed him. As it was, Lotor settled for squeezing Keith’s hand gently, before turning back to the absolute pandemonium that council floor had become. 

* * *

That night, upon returning to their rooms, Keith flopped face-first into the bed. “Why are they so obstinate?” He groaned.

“Studying your SAT words, I see,” Lance said. 

Keith would have kicked him, but he didn’t feel like moving. “Don’t be an ass.”

“They’ll come around,” Lotor said. “Or they won’t, in which case, it’s their loss. We will be fine either way.”

“Yeah, but, my God, we could help so many more people if they just fucking let us! Jesus Christ, it’s almost like some of them want their own people to starve, rather than take any aid from a Galra.”

“Such prejudices are to be expected, I suppose,” Lotor said. “The trick is to never give in and to never apologize for that what you are. For now, there is nothing left to be gained from worrying about it further.” He straddled Keith’s thighs and immediately began working the knots out of Keith’s shoulders. 

The tension melted away -really, Keith had no idea where Lotor had learned this, but he was glad he had -and Keith began to feel better. 

“Let us take care of you, Beloved,” Lotor murmured, leaning down to kiss the nape of Keith’s neck. “I can feel how stressed you are.” 

Keith considered. He wasn’t really turned on right now -his peak had finally, finally ended -but an orgasm or two would probably put him in a better mood. And it would be nice to just let go for a little while. 

He nodded. 

He could feel Lotor’s smile against the nape of his neck. “Out loud, Beloved. Let me hear you.”

_ Oh _ . Lotor was in one of those moods tonight. That was rare, but Keith liked it as much as he liked everything about Lotor (which was a lot). 

“Please,” Keith breathed. “I want that.”

Lotor was gone, suddenly, from Keith’s back, and then Keith was being manhandled -which always got him at least a little hot under the collar -gently, Lotor reverently and patiently stripping all of the fancy, ceremonial clothes off of him.

They ended up on the floor, not that Keith cared at this point. Not with Lotor taking his time to run his hands over every inch of Keith’s skin, pausing now and then to press a gentle kiss to the crest of Keith’s hip, or the underside of his jaw, or any one of the numerous places Lotor knew Keith liked to be touched. 

He’d had four years to study Keith in-depth, and he was always a quick study. 

“ _ Damn _ ,” Lance breathed from where he was watching.

Keith cracked an eye open. It wasn’t that he’d forgotten about Lance, exactly; more that he didn’t have the capacity to pay attention to anything that wasn’t Lotor. 

He tried to push himself up on one elbow, but Lotor’s hand firmly stopped him. “Don’t worry about him, Beloved. He won’t be left out.”

Keith nodded reluctantly. It was in his nature to care about other people first, which was why-

“I can hear you thinking,” Lotor said with fond exasperation. “It’s too bad we don’t have anything to tie you up with. That always gets you out of your head.”

Oh, it definitely was; as soon as Lotor hinted at it, he wanted it badly, and disappointment coursed through his veins at the thought of being denied it. 

“So, uh, not to interrupt or anything,” Lance began, “but I was kind of sort of hoping to broach that topic of conversation while you guys were here? Because I definitely have a Thing, and while I didn’t know Keith also had a Thing, I’m… Anyway, I came prepared, you know, just in case?” 

Keith and Lotor both turned and looked: Lance was holding up a pair of handcuffs Keith was pretty sure Lance had filched from the Castle. 

“Oh, those will work perfectly,” Lotor said, “won’t they, Beloved?”

Keith nodded, too fixated on the ideas Lance’s admission gave him to find words. But those would be ideas explored at another time. 

Lotor got up to take the cuffs from Lance. He had to know that Keith’s attention was riveted on them, because he took his time pressing close to Lance and then kissing him, deeply,  _ deliberately _ , in a way that made Keith breathless just watching. 

Finally, Lotor plucked the cuffs from Lance’s hand and walked back to the bed. “Don’t worry, Lance, you’ll get your turn later.”

Lance swallowed audibly. He had stripped out of his armor, and the flightsuit underneath left absolutely nothing to the imagination; he was clearly interested in getting his turn. 

Lotor pressed a kiss to each of Keith’s wrists before lifting them over Keith’s head. After a moment of studying the cuffs, he frowned. “Are these...operational?”

Lance nodded, then shrugged. “Yeah, kind of. They just don’t lock anymore. I mean, they’ll close, but you could get out of them pretty easily if you wanted to.”

“I suppose that’s one less thing we’ll have to worry about,” Lotor said thoughtfully. He closed a cuff around Keith’s right wrist, looped the cord through the slats in the headboard, and then cuffed Keith’s other wrist. “Comfortable?”

Keith tugged on the cuffs a few times, then nodded. 

Lotor studied his face for a moment, before nodding. “I’m not intending to push you very far tonight; regardless, if you need to stop, tell me, Beloved. Don’t keep going because it’s what you think I want. This is about you.”

“You’re one to talk,” Keith said, wishing he could cross his arms. 

“And we all learned some very important lessons, didn’t we.” He kissed Keith’s forehead. “But I am serious, Beloved.”

“I will,” Keith said. “I trust you.” That, and Lotor was incredibly good at knowing Keith’s limits. Very attentive and always careful. Which was why Keith never worried when he let Lotor take over like this. 

Lotor cupped his chin and kissed him, slow and deep, just hard enough that it left Keith aching when Lotor inevitably pulled away. 

And then Lotor settled next to Keith and beckoned Lance over.

Lance came over immediately, stumbling a little in his haste. (Terribly endearing, Keith decided.) 

“You should make Keith feel good,” Lotor said casually. “He deserves it.”

Lance looked back and forth between Keith and Lotor, his eyes wide. “H-how, exactly?”

“However you wish, I suppose.” Lotor ran his fingers through Keith’s hair, and normally it was something Keith was rather ambivalent about, but now, it was such a sensual pleasure -not erotic, but still good -that Keith closed his eyes and melted into it. 

Lance straddling his lap had his eyes flying open again, though; the smooth fabric of Lance’s flight suit felt weirdly good on his cock, which was not yet all the way hard. It wouldn’t be long though. 

“What are we going to do with you?” Lance cooed fondly, cupping Keith’s face in both his hands. 

Keith hoped Lance didn’t expect a verbal answer, because he was not going to get one. 

“Spent too much time worrying about everyone else. Lotor’s absolutely right; you do need someone to take care of you for once.” With that, Lance closed the distance between them, pressing their lips together in what started out as a slow, gentle kiss. 

Keith tried to deepen it as best as he could, but the cuffs prevented him from reaching out to pull Lance closer. He whined into the kiss.

He was distantly aware of Lotor laughing softly. 

Lance gave in, deepening the kiss into something a bit rougher, more passionate; it made Keith’s toes curl with pleasure, made him want to grab Lance’s hips and guide him into grinding down. He had to settle for bucking up as much as he could, which was not much. 

Finally, Lance began trailing kisses down one side of Keith’s neck, down his shoulder. Keith trembled when Lance spent a small eternity just gently pressing kisses into the scar from Keith’s Blade Trial. He wasn’t sure what about it was affecting him so strangely tonight; Lotor often did the same thing, because he liked seeing the reminders of all the things Keith had overcome (his words, not Keith’s), but-

Lance loosely wrapped his hand around Keith’s cock, and all thoughts abruptly turned to the smooth, gentle pleasure of that. 

He wanted to pull Lance back up, so he could kiss him, show him how much he liked it, and he moved his arms and-

He yanked against the cuffs harder. 

“I think that’s enough, Lance,” Lotor said. “We don’t want Keith to hurt himself.”

Keith almost screamed in frustration as Lance climbed off him. Lotor continued to stroke his hair. “You can never quite relax, can you, Beloved?” He asked softly. “If you come now, will you be able to continue?”  

Keith nodded vigorously. He wanted whatever they would give him.

“You’re not in your peak anymore, Beloved. How many do you think you could handle? Two? Three? Or is it not about that?”

“N-not- Not about that,” Keith managed. “Just want- Wanna let go.”

“Ah,” Lotor said, leaning down to kiss Keith gently. “I think we can manage that.” And then he stood and slowly began to strip his own clothing off, like he knew that both Keith’s and Lance’s eyes were on him.

They were, and neither of them would have looked away, even if they could. 

And then Lotor returned to Keith, astride his lap, just as Lance had been minutes before. The major difference was that Lotor was also naked now.

Keith wanted to touch so  _ badly _ . 

“Lance, darling, could you pass the lubricant, please?” Lotor asked over his shoulder. 

Lance did, and before he knew it, Lotor was slicking up Keith’s cock, and then, slowly, deliberately, sinking down on it. 

Keith needed to touch, needed to  _ move,  _ but Lotor would not be rushed. His head was tilted back, exposing the long column of his throat  _ -so imminently biteable _ \- his eyes were closed, and there was a small, satisfied smile on his face. 

“Mm,” he purred, rolling his hips a little to find a better position. He looked so beautiful like that, and Keith told him.

Lotor rewarded him by intertwining their fingers above Keith’s head. It changed the angle for the better, and it seemed that Lotor could no longer resist riding Keith.

Which was absolutely fine with Keith. He wished he could reach out and pull on Lotor’s hair, just the way he liked, but this was still…

He couldn’t help but rock his hips up to meet Lotor’s, and Lotor allowed it for a minute. 

“Mm...no, Beloved, you don’t have to do anything. Just feel and let me take care of you…” The breathless quality of Lotor’s voice made Keith nod and grip Lotor’s hands a little bit harder. 

And then Lotor’s mouth was at his throat, and those sharp fangs were digging into the soft skin there. 

Keith came suddenly, without warning, and Lotor came shortly after, riding Keith through the aftershocks. 

Lotor kissed him, untangling his hands to cup Keith’s face.

Finally, he pulled away. “Are you done for tonight, Beloved?”

Keith shook his head. No, not yet. He needed something else, something more. He whined, unable to articulate this right now.

Lotor brushed his hair back. “Good,” he crooned. “Lance hasn’t had this turn yet. Is that what you want?”

It was. Keith nodded vigorously.

“Do you want him to fuck you?”

Keith nodded even harder, so hard he was a little dizzy. 

“So eager,” Lotor teased. He gave Keith one final kiss, then climbed off him. “Lance, darling, how do you feel about giving Keith what he wants?”

“Pretty good,” Lance said in a rough voice. “I- I can definitely do that.”

He approached Keith, but Lotor pulled him over to him, kissing him languidly. Keith whined. 

Lotor laughed, before nudging Lance back to Keith. “I couldn’t resist, Beloved. He is so pretty, don’t you think?”

Lance  _ was _ pretty, and he looked even prettier with that red blush all the way down his chest; Keith nodded. 

None of that stopped Lance from settling in between Keith’s legs. “Should I, uh-?” He began to ask Lotor. 

“No, I think he can handle it. Besides, you want to feel him tomorrow, don’t you, Beloved?”

Keith  _ did. _ He spread his legs a little wider. “ _ Please _ ,” he breathed. “Please please please?”

Lance nodded, kissed Keith chastely on the mouth, and slicked himself up. “Ready?”

Keith nodded.

Lance pressed in slowly, and it made Keith’s toes curl, the slight burn of the stretch melting into pleasure almost immediately. 

He couldn’t think anymore, and that was exactly what he’d been chasing after. The pleasure was secondary.

Outside of his peak, coming twice in quick succession was something of a rarity, but he was hard again, and so terribly sensitive, and when Lance began to fuck him in earnest…

Lance was so  _ deep _ and he made him feel so  _ full _ and Keith was dizzy with pleasure and sensation…

He just needed a little more, and then Lance leaned down to kiss and nip at his neck-

Everything faded away in a dazzling haze of pure feeling, a tidal wave of pleasure and nothingness. 


	20. Decisions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Early update bc my sister’s coming to visit, and I wanted to go ahead and get things posted

Lance watched Lotor intently massage Keith’s right wrist and hand. “He’s just...out, isn’t he?”

Lotor hummed a little noise. “He needed this.”

He probably had, at that. There was also the fact that Lotor had managed to wake Keith up long enough to get most of a glass of water in him and ask him if he wanted to take his sleeping pills (he had). And man, those sleeping pills… They did not fuck around. 

Lance picked up Keith’s other hand and began massaging it. His fingertips were still warm, so it seemed that his circulation had not really been restricted. Still, it was good to be sure. 

“He thinks too much sometimes,” Lotor said quietly. “He’s very compassionate, very caring, but sometimes he lets it...eat at him. And, well… He is half-Galra, and this really is the best way to get him to relax.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this relaxed before.” 

“It can be very stressful, being an Emperor. And he takes it very seriously, as he should. But no, he doesn’t relax easily. Not on his own, and I suppose,” Lotor said with a quick grin, “that’s where we come in.” 

In his sleep, Keith began to- 

“Is he purring?” Lance had no idea Keith could do that. Lotor did, sometimes, rarely, but-

Lotor cocked his head slightly, as if listening. He didn’t have to listen hard; Keith’s purr was like a lawnmower. “He is.” Lotor stroked Keith’s hair. “He only does it when he’s sleeping. I don’t think he knows that he can, actually…” 

“It’s super cute,” Lance said. 

“It is,” Lotor agreed. “It’s a good sign. Tomorrow’s meeting will likely be…”

“Unpleasant? Aggravating? Annoying? Rage-inducing?” Lance supplied.

“Possibly all of the above,” Lotor said. “But we will need to keep level heads. The Coalition already thinks quite poorly of the Empire; we don’t need them to think that we are out-of-control and aggressive.” 

It had been several years since Lance had seen Keith threaten the Olkari King, but he remembered it vividly. “...Yeah, definitely. I know that Allura is going to bat for you, you know, in the Coalition-only meetings.” 

“And I will have to thank her for that. Without her, I doubt we would have gotten this far. We are doing everything we can in order to gain the Coalition’s trust, but they have to be willing to meet us halfway.” His fangs flashed in a quick grin. “Still, Lance, darling, you probably shouldn’t tell me what goes on behind closed doors.”

Lance pouted. “It’s not like I told you anything important.”

“Yes, but we wouldn’t want anyone to think that you had...conflicting interests, shall we say?” He leaned over Keith to kiss Lance. “We should probably get some sleep.”

On cue, Lance yawned. “Yeah, probably. Love you.”

“I love you too, Lance.” 

* * *

Lance was probably going to have to make a decision soon. 

So far, no one really knew about his marriage (mostly because he hadn’t figured out how to tell his mama yet), but. 

Well, political or not, it was something of a conflict of interest. Allura would (probably) be ok with it, but the rest of the Coalition… They couldn’t demand that he step down as Black Paladin, and he had no intention of doing so for at least several years still. 

But they could leave the Coalition, or refuse Voltron’s help, or…

He bribed the Galra door guards with some popsicles, because they really just were not coping with the heat well. “Are they in?”

“No, Sir,” the one on the left said. “But their majesties left instructions to permit you entry whenever you wished.”

_ Sir _ . He wasn’t a  _ Sir _ . Just a kid from Cuba with too much responsibility. “Thanks,” he said, slipping into the suite.

It was very...sterile-feeling. All white and brushed chrome. All straight lines. Was a lack of interior decorating skills a universal thing? 

He hadn’t really paid that much attention to the room before; he’d always been with either Keith or Lotor, if not both, and they usually had his full attention. 

There were a few sheets of paper on the desk, covered in little sketches. He recognized Keith’s handwriting in a few places, but the rest seemed to belong to someone else.

Lotor? Lance realized he’d never actually seen Lotor’s handwriting, or his drawings. Even for rough sketches (and doodles), they were quite good. 

Lance liked learning these little, soft things about Lotor. So much of his life had been...less than great, and there was nothing Lance could do about it, and he hated that. 

Did this mean Lotor doodled during meetings when he was bored? Lance hoped so. That was seriously adorable. 

He’d come here because the main meeting was going on, and he hadn’t felt like spending another morning listening to various Coalition members attempt to disparage his husbands. 

He’d gone to his own room, but it had felt too lonely. If there was a pool here, he would have gone swimming, but there wasn’t, and it was too hot to spend too much time outside, so…

Here he was. 

He’d kind of forgotten that both Keith and Lotor were in the habit of packing extremely lightly. The summit was nearly half-over, but there were hardly any personal belongs anywhere.

“I married two disasters,” Lance muttered to himself. But fondly, because he did love them, even if they were pretty hopeless most of the time. 

What was he going to do? 

He’d been thinking about it even before the marriage.

And yeah, Keith managed being an Emperor and a paladin, but he also didn’t have family on Earth he needed to see every now and then. 

And Keith wanted a kid.

Lance did, too; he liked kids, had always hoped he’d have at least a few. Lotor...might come around, or he might not. But if he did…

If he did, and they did end up adopting a kid, Lance couldn’t… He wouldn’t be able to justify spending half the year or whatever away, on Earth. Parenting was about putting the time in, and he couldn’t do that from across the universe. So he’d...He’d have to stay on Daikiraan. 

He ground his palms into his eyes. He did have too many responsibilities. Sure, having a kid was a huge responsibility, but… That wasn’t a decision he had to make alone. 

He couldn’t make everyone happy. He wanted to. 

But it wasn’t possible. Not for anyone. So you just had to do your best and hope it worked out. 

And even if he lived with Keith and Lotor, he’d still be able to visit his family. Not as frequently, but, well, people moved away all the time. Not usually to another galaxy, but… 

And he was married. He should be able to live with his husbands, except when he was doing Paladin stuff and had to travel. 

He couldn’t live with his parents forever.

And he did have an obligation to Keith and Lotor, just as they had obligations to him. 

He sat down the on bed to wait; the meeting would be over for the day soon, and he needed to talk to his husbands. 

* * *

Keith and Lotor showed up finally, and neither seemed especially surprised to see Lance there.

“Hey. The guards said you were here,” Keith said.

One of Lotor’s ears was flicking back and forth, in sort of same way a human’s eyelid might twitch. 

“I take it it went well today,” Lance said drily. 

Lotor crossed his arms. “Does it ever?”

”Fair enough. I...wanted to talk to you guys. If you’re not busy.”

Keith leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. “For you? We’d make time.”

“Ok, so...let me start off by saying that I really love you both, even if you are actual walking disasters. Like, do you even pack when you travel, or just stuff a spare pair of underwear in your pockets and call it even? There’s a difference between minimalism and...whatever this is, ok, and if I have to pack for you, I will. And you,” Lance said, poking Lotor in the chest, “are goddamn adorable and it’s really fucking cute that you doodle on your meeting notes.”

Lotor did that thing he did when he was flustered. “You...saw those?”

“Well, it’s fucking cute! And I hope I get to see you draw a lot more, because I- I’m going to move in with you guys, on Daikiraan, because I married you, and you guys are my husbands.”

“What- what about your family, Lance?” Keith asked.

“I mean. We’ll have to make a stop and tell my mama that I got married and let her meet you guys, but, I mean… Earth’s too... _ small _ now, you know? I’ve seen and done so much, and there’s so much left to see and do, and I want to do it with you guys, because I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you!”

Lotor leaned down and kissed him. As eloquent as he could be, sometimes he found expressing his emotions in words, and preferred action; Keith was the same way, and Lance was certainly not opposed. 

“We would be honored to have you.”   


	21. Epilogue: Three Men And a Baby

Keith had expected to find Lotor waiting for him back at the palace, the way he usually did when Keith came back from a long absence. 

“Major Urvok, where is my husband?” Lotor had probably gotten involved in something and lost track of time; it had happened before and it would happen again. 

“In the hospital, Sire.”

“And nobody told me!?” 

Urvok stopped dead in his tracks. “No, uh, sorry, Sire! He’s in fine health. Lately, he’s been spending time in the Children’s Ward, Sire.”

Keith relaxed. “Oh thank god.” Fuck, he’d almost needed to go to the hospital for that. “Comm me if anything important comes up.”

“Vrepit sa, Sire.”

The sole city on Daikiraan had grown over the years, since Daikiraan had become the new capital of the Galra Empire, but for the time being, its singular hospital served the populace well. 

Keith hadn’t been back to the hospital since its official opening; apparently he was in remarkably good health for a half-breed. 

The fact that Lotor had been spending time in the Children’s Ward, of all places… That meant he’d considered Keith’s proposal, didn’t it? Maybe even made up his mind about it. 

When he reached the hospital and asked for someone to show him to his husband, he was led to a very quiet wing of the hospital -not exactly what he’d expected from a  _ Children’s _ Ward -and asked to keep his voice down. Very respectfully, of course, and of course Keith didn’t mind.

He’d expected that, at least; there were, presumably, some very sick children here.

What he didn’t expect was Lotor holding what was possibly the smallest baby he’d ever seen -not that he’d seen too many babies -and talking in the softest voice Keith had ever heard from him -which Keith did have a lot of experience with, because Lotor was actually a huge softie on the inside. 

Keith tapped on the door frame gently, to announce his presence. 

Lotor looked up. He looked tired- actually, he looked terrible, as if he hadn’t slept in a week. But he looked happy.

There was something underneath that happiness, but Keith would worry about that later. 

“I meant to come greet you when you got back, but she wouldn’t go to sleep,” Lotor said.

Keith had thought it was impossible for him to fall even more in love with Lotor, but here he was, his heart three sizes too big. “I hear you’ve been coming here a lot.”

Lotor hummed an affirmation. “I thought a lot about what you said, and you were right, as you often are. And then Dr. Arnok mentioned a case he’d been working with, and I… Well. One thing led to another, and here we are.”

“So, you’d be ok with adopting a child?”

“Or two, or three, or a dozen,” Lotor said softly. “I want to adopt this one, but the doctors aren’t sure how long she’ll live.” 

“Oh,” Keith said. “What does Dr. Arnok say?”

“She had surgery a few days ago, and he thinks that if she recovers well, she’ll have another month before she can tolerate another, assuming she lives that long. She’s got a fever now, and she hasn’t been putting on weight. The only time she isn’t crying is when someone’s holding her, but even that is an improvement on where she was a month ago, because it means she has the strength to cry. Every time one condition is fixed, another appears. She may never leave this hospital.

“But every doctor in this hospital said she’d die hours after her birth, and now she’s two months old.”

“She’s a fighter,” Keith said, a little stunned with the love in Lotor’s voice, the pride and adoration and protectiveness. Exactly how he’d imagined Lotor would be as a father. 

“She is,” Lotor agreed. “She’s a half-breed.” The  _ like us _ went unspoken, but Keith knew it was there. 

Keith stepped closer, a little afraid of disturbing the baby, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully in Lotor’s arms. 

She was covered in fine, downy fur, purple except for a crest of white on the top of her head. The rest of her was swaddled in a blanket. 

“She’s so small,” Keith said, a little in awe. But also fearfully. How could something that small be alive? 

“She was born several weeks prematurely,” Lotor said. “Her mother did not survive the delivery, and her father is unknown.” 

“So we could adopt her,” Keith said.

“We could,” Lotor replied, “but even the most optimistic say she’ll only live another three months, and I don’t want to put you through that.”

“What’s her name?” Keith asked. 

Lotor blinked. “She… They never gave her one.”

“Can I hold her?” 

Lotor carefully placed the baby in Keith’s arms. She felt just as small as she looked, tiny and fragile and breakable. Something to be protected above all else. 

She opened her eyes. They were completely gold, no hint of a pupil at all. 

“Her nictitating membranes are still fused,” Lotor explained. “But they’ll be able to retract in a few months.”

“Can she see?”

“Better than expected,” Lotor said, putting an arm around Keith's waist and hooking his chin over Keith’s shoulder, so he could look down at the baby. 

She blinked up at them, then cooed softly.

It struck at a deep, instinctive part of Keith. The same part of him that had him asking Lotor if they could adopt a child, because he wanted so badly to make sure no child went unloved and uncared for. 

“Everyone deserves a name,” Keith said, barely blinking back tears, “and a family. Even if it’s only for three months. She should know that she’s loved, that someone out there cares for her.”

“Keith, I love you so much,” Lotor said, his voice also breaking. If they hadn’t been alone, Lotor would have kept better control of his emotions, but it was just them and the baby.

“You stayed with her the last few nights, didn’t you?”

“...Yes,” Lotor admitted. “There were complications during the surgery, and she- I didn’t want her to be alone, if something happened. I know that, if she survives, she won’t remember it, but…”

“You will, and I will. Maybe she won’t remember this, but it still matters.”

“I love her so much, Keith,” Lotor murmured. “My heart breaks every time I look at her, because I know she’s in so much pain and she’s fighting so hard, and there’s nothing I can do to help her. I’d do anything for her, Keith, just like I’d do anything for you or Lance, but there’s just nothing…”

“We’re going to adopt her,” Keith said firmly, “and we’re going to give her a family and a name and love.”

“Honerva,” Lotor said, so softly Keith barely heard him. “I’d like to name her after my mother.”

“Honerva,” Keith said, trying the name out. The baby in his arms cooed again, and Keith laughed. “I think she agrees.”

* * *

Lance ended up cutting his duty rotation short, and he was home by the time Honerva was healthy enough to leave the hospital. 

He was holding her now as she slept -apparently, Galra babies were held pretty much all the time for the first several months, and Keith had to admit that he liked knowing that if she wasn’t in his arms, then she was with  _ someone _ -and just...looking at her, like she was the most precious thing in the entire universe.

Keith felt the same way, and he could tell that Lotor did, too. 

If Keith had thought Lotor was a softie before… It was nothing compared to now. Lance had a few theories about it -the fact that Lotor had never had an opportunity to express these feelings, a biological imperative, etc -but it didn’t really matter to Keith. 

What did matter to Keith was how besotted Lotor was with Honerva, how attentive, how careful he was. If Keith didn’t know better, he’d say that Lotor had some prior experience at this. 

He was currently wrapped around Lance while Keith did some work -empires didn’t stop for anything, even if everyone was really understanding about the situation -purring so loudly Keith was a little worried it would wake the baby. It never did; Honerva could probably sleep through an entire battle, if given the chance. 

Becoming the Emperor of the Galra Empire was perhaps the accomplishment that had the most impact on the universe, but raising Honerva… That would be his most important and meaningful contribution. To her, at least, and that was fine; he already knew he’d do anything for her. They all would.

If every twist and turn of Keith’s life had led him to this, then… He wouldn’t change a thing. 


End file.
